International Women’s Day, 08 March 2026 - Theme, Importance and History

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global event celebrated on the 8th of March every year since 1911, intending to commemorate women's social, cultural, economic, and political achievements. Apart from honouring the achievements, this day is also a critical beacon which calls action to accelerate women's equality.

International Women's Day is honoured globally in various ways. In countries such as Afghanistan, Belarus, Cambodia, Georgia, Nepal etc., International Women's Day is an official holiday, while in other countries such as China, Madagascar etc., the women in the workforce enjoy a holiday. 

Despite its legal status, International Women's Day witnesses the exchange of gifts and flowers to display equality towards the other gender in almost all countries.

International Women's Day 2026 Theme

This year 2026, the International Women's Day theme is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”.  This theme highlights the shift from symbolic gestures toward structural accountability, ensuring that legal rights are backed by accessible justice for every woman and girl. It demands immediate, tangible action to dismantle the systemic barriers and discriminatory laws that prevent gender equality from becoming a lived reality worldwide.

Year by year, the themes of International Women's Day:

• IWD Theme 2025: Accelerate Action
• IWD Theme 2024: Invest in women: Accelerate progress
• IWD Theme 2023: Embrace Equity
• IWD Theme 2022: Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow
• IWD Theme 2021: Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world
• IWD Theme 2020: I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights

History and Evolution of International Women's Day (IWD)

The origin of International Women's Day is interwoven with the women's suffrage movement. Women's suffrage movement, which started in the 18th century, strived for the right of women to vote, and the suffragettes undertook extreme tactics to achieve their goal. Suffragettes are usually women who advocated for women's right to vote. 

In 1910, an International Socialist Women's Conference was organized with 100 delegates from 17 countries who proposed an annual "Women's Day" to promote equal rights, including women's suffrage. The next year, 1911, the first International Women's Day was celebrated by over a million people in Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Switzerland.

Role of UN Women on International Women's Day (IWD)

For numerous years, the United Nations has been wary of the hurdles in promoting global gender equality. To address it, the United Nations General Assembly established UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in July 2010.

Through this theme, UN Women intend to include women and other marginalized groups in technology, thus leading to more innovative solutions satisfying needs and promoting gender equality.

International Women’s Day on Women's Health

Various international medical societies recognise the differences between the health status and the diseases affecting women and men. 

Women may be less susceptible to infectious diseases than men, but are prone to autoimmune diseases. Research attributes it to the X chromosome. Since the X chromosome has many genes relating to the immune system, and women receive two of them, it is logical to have an increased tendency to develop autoimmunity throughout their life.

Apart from autoimmunity, the other diseases concerning the fairer sex include: 

• Cervical Cancer: The cervix is a narrow and lower part of the female reproductive system. The vagina and cervix comprise the birth canal. When cervical cells proliferate (increase rapidly in number or multiply) out of control, it is called cervical cancer.

• Breast Cancer: The cells in the breast grow out of control, which can occur in either one or both breasts. Most females worldwide will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. 

• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: A condition with few but long periods due to androgens (male hormone). 

• Infertility: Failure to achieve a pregnancy even after 12 months of regular sexual intercourse. Increased hormonal imbalances, stress levels, environmental pollution and late marriages could cause this.

• Heart Diseases: The propensity for heart disease increases significantly after menopause. 

• Osteoporosis: The risk of osteoporosis increases significantly after menopause.

Department of Gynaecology