BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The International Women's Day falls on March 8 annually to celebrate women's economic, political and social achievements throughout history and across nations.
The day aims to help nations worldwide eliminate discrimination against women and help women gain full and equal participation in global development.
The International Women's Day was established in 1910 at the Second International Socialist Women's Conference in Denmark.
In 1977, the UN General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for Women's Rights and International Peace.
Over the past 100 years, women across the world have made sustaining efforts in fighting for freedom and equality. The international community, led by the United Nations, has also made vigorous efforts in protecting women's rights and empowering women.
The Charter of the United Nations, signed in San Francisco in 1945, was the first international agreement to proclaim gender equality a fundamental human right.
In 1946, the UN Commission on the Status of Women was created to secure equal political rights, economic rights and educational opportunities for women throughout the world.
Since then, the organization has helped create a historic legacy of international agreed strategies, standards, agreements and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.
The UN drew global attention to women's concerns by proclaiming the year 1975 International Women's Year, and proclaiming the period from 1976 to 1985 United Nations Decade for Women.
The Fourth World Conference on Women was held in September 1995 in Beijing. The meeting adopted by consensus the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which were the global community's most comprehensive policy document for the empowerment of women and gender equality.
The three previous World Conference were held in Mexico City (1975), Copenhagen (1980) and Nairobi (1985).
In September 2000, the United Nations issued eight Millennium Development Goals, which included measures and initiatives to promote gender equality and empower women.
Over the years, women's living conditions and social status have been greatly improved thanks to the unremitting efforts of the international community. Women are playing an ever bigger role in politics, economy, culture and various aspects of the social life.
According to a recent survey by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women now comprises a record 18.8 percent of parliamentarians around the world.
Women has also made great contributions to the world's economic development. UN statistics showed that women produce half of the world's food.
According to a report by the International Labor Office, the number of employed women reached 1.2 billion in 2007, and the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the prime employer of women.
However, some countries in the world still have laws that discriminate against women. Due to low political status and poor economic strength, women are still facing discrimination and abuses.
Women are still the direct targets and the most affected victims of armed conflicts, social turbulence, economic crisis and natural disasters.
Statistics show that women make up 70 percent of the world's poverty population, and the majority of the illiterate.
Around half a million women die annually before, during or shortly after giving birth, and violence is still a leading cause of death for women aged 15-44 worldwide.
