International Women’s Day is declared as an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc. with flowers and small gifts. In some countries this day is given a status equivalent to Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.
There has been significant changes in women’s and society’s attitudes towards women’s equality and emancipation. Though the younger generation feel that almost all battles have been won for women, the feminists from the earlier generation know only too well that it is not all that easy. They are well aware of the ingrained complexity of patriarchy and that the male domination over the years is not all that easy to shake off. However, with more and more women making their presence felt in the boardroom, greater equality in women’s legislative rights and the increased number of female role models in every aspect of life, women have almost won their fight for equality but there is still some way to go. For women, are still paid less than their male counterparts thought in most fields they have proved that they are better workers – more sincere, more honest and more skilful. The number of women in business and politics are still not at par with their male counterparts. What’s violence against them are still rampant in many pockets of society. The saddest part is that, this is happening even in the educated and urban societies which other boast of their broad outlook towards life in general.
