March 8 2011, marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.
The first IWD, initiated by a German woman named Clara Zetkin, was observed on 19 March 1911 in Germany and some neighbouring countries.
In 1975, which was designated as International Women’s Year, the United Nations gave official sanction to, and began sponsoring, International Women’s Day.
IWD is declared a public holiday in about two dozens of countries. In some European places it’s said to be a custom of giving women flowers on this day.
The lesser known International Men’s Day was inaugurated in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s celebrated on November 19.
