International Women’s Day on 8th of March

International Women’s Day is approaching us fast!

International Women’s Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women’s Day, is celebrated on March 8^th every year. There In different regions, the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women for their economic, political and social achievements.

According to the Economist, and “its annual index to coincide with the March 8^th event, which Iceland and Scandinavian countries make the top of the list, while South Korea, Turkey, and Japan populate the bottom. International Women’s Day focuses on ending violence against women and girls, South Korea’s admirable reversal of the cultural preference for sons over daughters and the gendercide (is the GENOCIDE of a specific gender group that is, the mass killing of girls and women) that comes with it can be seen as a model for similar efforts worldwide”

Usually in traditional Korean society, the women’s roles were very limited, basically, their life was restricted to being at home. From a young age, women were taught on how to be submissive as well as endurance to prepare for their future roles as wives and mothers. The women, in general, couldn’t participate in society as men did, and their role was limited to household matters. However, according to Asia society “with the help of launching the new administration in 1998, the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs was established to handle issues specifically involving women. The commission was elevated and expanded to become the Ministry of Gender Equality in January 2001. The new ministry set up 20 specific tasks to be achieved in six basic areas. These areas are: to revise and establish laws and rules that involve discrimination in any sector and to increase the representation of women, to facilitate women’s employment and provide support for female workers, to increase educational opportunities for women to be competitive in the labor market, to provide social welfare policies for women, to promote women’s involvement in various social activities including volunteer work and women’s organization activities, and to strengthen the cooperation of Korean women’s organizations with international women’s organizations”.

“Celebrating International Women’s Day in South Korea”

“South Korean female workers shout slogans during a rally to mark International Women’s Day in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 8, 2012. The letters read “Preserve a living wage and hire more temporary employees.”