Women's Day - stands for more than «bread and roses» today

The song «Bread and Roses» was written during strikes by female textile workers against starvation wages. When a fire broke out in a textile factory in 1911, 146 people died, including 123 mainly underage girls. The number of victims was high because the exits were locked during working hours, making the factory a death trap. At the commemoration ceremony, a female trade unionist said that women workers need not only bread but also roses. By this she meant that women not only need a fair wage (bread), but also decent working and living conditions, as well as respect and recognition (roses). In 1912, «Bread and Roses» became a poem, then a strike slogan, and even a song. The latter is now inextricably linked with International Women's Day.

International Women's Day, which takes place on 8 March, was proposed by Clara Zetkin at the 2nd International Women's Conference in Copenhagen in 1910 and first celebrated in Denmark, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Switzerland in 1911. The aim was to lend greater weight to women's demands in the public arena. In 1977, it was declared the «United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace» by the United Nations. Since then, women all over the world have been drawing attention to their rights on this day. The UN's motto for 2022 was «Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow», while for 2023 it is «DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality».

The International Day of the Girl (also Day of Girls) is an international observance day initiated by the United Nations that has been held annually on 11 October since 2003. It is intended to draw attention to the disadvantages faced by girls worldwide. Demands include the targeted promotion of girls and young women through education, the fight against forced marriage, equal rights in all areas of life, the consistent implementation of anti-discrimination laws and no tolerance for violence against girls and young women. To draw attention to this day, on the evening of 11 October, world-famous buildings and objects are always illuminated in pink. Among others, the Pyramids of Giza, Niagara Falls and the London Eye have already been illuminated. Pink? Yes. Because according to the children's rights organization Plan, the campaign's bright pink has a strong signaling power and is intended to convey «joie de vivre and the courage to take the offensive».