International Women's Day Official UN Themes

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2010 International Women's Day

On the occasion of 2010 International Women's Day the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) drew attention to the hardship displaced women endure. The displacement of populations is one of the gravest consequences of today's armed conflicts. It affects women in a host of ways.

2011 International Women's Day

U.S. Army officer Lt Col Pam Moody with a group of Afghan women on International Women's Day 2011

Events took place in more than 100 countries on March 8, 2011 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. In the United States, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 2011 to be "Women's History Month", calling Americans to mark IWD by reflecting on "the extraordinary accomplishments of women" in shaping the country's history. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the "100 Women Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls through International Exchanges", on the eve of IWD. In the run-up to 2011 International Women's Day, the ICRC called on States and other entities not to relent in their efforts to prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence that harm the lives and dignity of countless women in conflict zones around the world every year. In Pakistan, Punjab Govt. Project Gender Reform Action Plan, District Gujranwala celebrated this day in large scale in the Gift University Gujranwala. Mrs. Shazia Ashfaq Mattu, MPA and GRAP officer Mr. Dr. Yasir Nawaz Manj organized the events in very effective manners.

Australia issued a 100th anniversary commemorative coin.

In Egypt however, the day was a step back for women. In Egypt’s Tahrir Square, hundreds of men came out not in support for women but to harass the women who came out to stand up for their rights as the police and military stood by watching the events unfold in front of them. "The women - some in headscarves and flowing robes, others in jeans - had marched to Cairo's central Tahrir Square to celebrate International Women's Day. But crowds of men soon outnumbered them and chased them out," wrote Hadeel Al-Shalchi for AP.

2012 International Women's Day

The UN theme for International Women's Day 2012 was Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty.[20] In that year, Oxfam America invited people to celebrate inspiring women in their lives by sending a free International Women's Day e-Card or honoring a woman whose efforts had made a difference in the fight against hunger and poverty with Oxfam's International Women's Day award.

On the occasion of International Women's Day 2012, the ICRC called for more action to help the mothers and wives of people who have gone missing during armed conflict. The vast majority of people who go missing in connection with conflict are men. As well as the anguish of not knowing what has happened to the missing person, many of these women face economic and practical difficulties. The ICRC underlined the duty of parties to a conflict to search for the missing and provide information for the families.

The Google Doodle for March 8, 2012 had an International Women's Day theme.

2013 International Women's Day

The UN theme for International Women's Day 2013 was "A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women," while International Women's Day 2013 declared the year's theme as The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum.

The 2013 International Women's Day, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) draw attention to the plight of women in prison.

2014 International Women's Day

The UN theme for International Women's Day 2014 is "Equality for Women is Progress for All".

2015 International Women's Day

The UN theme for International Women's Day 2015 is "Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!". Governments and activists around the world will commemorate the 20th anniversary year of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, an historic roadmap that sets the agenda for realizing women's rights.

2016 International Women's Day

The International Woman’s Day theme for 2016 is "Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality". An independent campaign, separate from the UN, is being run by financial firm EY with other corporate partners, organizing events around a #PledgeForParity hashtag.

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, in his message issued on the eve of International Women's Day said: "On the occasion of International Womens Day, I extend warm greetings and good wishes to the women of India and thank them for their contributions over the years in the building of our nation." The ministry of women and child development announced the setting up of four more one-stop crisis centers on March 8, in addition to the eight already functioning across the country. Ahead of Women’s Day, the national carrier Air India operated what it claimed to be the world’s longest non-stop flight where the entire flight operations were handled by women, as part of International Women's Day celebrations. The flight, from Delhi to San Francisco, covered a distance of around 14,500 kilometers in around 17 hours.

2017 International Women's Day

Ukrainian group Femen calling for a sex strike to protest against sexual exploitation of women.

2017 will be the hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution, which was sparked on March 8, 1917 by women protesting against bread shortages in St. Petersburg. These events culminated in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II on March 15. Worldwide celebrations and re-enactments are scheduled to begin on March 8, 2017. Among the organisers is the Ukrainian women's direct action group FEMEN, which aims "to shake women in Ukraine, making them socially active; to organize in 2017 a women's revolution."

On this day a global women's strike including a sex strike is planned, called by, among others, the International Union of Sex Workers.