[ti:Marking International WomenĄŻs Day]
[ar:Steve Ember]
[al:Development Report]
[by:www.51voa.com]
[00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English
[00:03.50]Development Report.
[00:05.68]International Women's Day
[00:07.91]is celebrated each year
[00:10.15]on March eighth. Groups
[00:12.95]around the world
[00:14.38]use the day to honor
[00:16.75]the progress of women.
[00:17.87]They also use the day
[00:21.32]to call attention to
[00:23.19]the social,political
[00:25.29]and economic  problems
[00:27.40]facing women and girls.
[00:30.52]Among the issues 
[00:32.33]are forced marriage, 
[00:34.50]sexual abuse, poverty 
[00:37.11]and a lack of education.
[00:39.85]The United Nations says 
[00:42.34]one in five women worldwide
[00:45.70] will be the victim 
[00:47.50]of a sexual assault 
[00:49.31]in her lifetime. 
[00:51.05]It says rape 
[00:52.98]and domestic violence 
[00:55.03]are major causes of disability 
[00:58.27]and death among women 
[01:00.69]aged fifteen to forty four. 
[01:03.74]More than one hundred thirty 
[01:05.54]million females in Africa
[01:07.91]and other areas of the world
[01:10.82]have had their sexual organs 
[01:13.57]cut for cultural reasons.
[01:16.49]Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon says 
[01:19.85]the world's goals for a peace, 
[01:22.59]security, and sustainable development 
[01:26.26]are at risk until women 
[01:28.81]and girls are freed 
[01:30.92]from poverty and injustice. 
[01:34.28]More than one billion people 
[01:37.02]in the world live 
[01:38.33]in an extreme poverty. 
[01:40.25]And the United Nations says 
[01:42.43]the majority are female.
[01:45.42]National Women's Day 
[01:47.22]was first celebrated 
[01:48.96]in the United States 
[01:50.45]on February twenty eighth, 1909. 
[01:55.06]The next year, 
[01:56.49]a women's rights leader 
[01:58.73]from Germany suggested 
[02:00.84]the idea of an international celebration.
[02:05.01]Clara Zetkin said women 
[02:07.87]around the world should 
[02:10.05]set aside one day every year 
[02:12.72]to protest oppression and inequality. 
[02:17.58]She suggested the idea 
[02:19.75]at an International Conference 
[02:22.18]of Working Women in Copenhagen.
[02:25.35]More than one million people 
[02:27.96]attended events in Austria, 
[02:30.83]Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland 
[02:34.06]during the first International 
[02:36.42]Women's Day. It took place in 1911.
[02:41.46]In 1914, the date 
[02:44.76]for the observance was changed 
[02:47.31]to March eighth in honor 
[02:49.61]of a historic protest 
[02:51.60]for women's rights. 
[02:53.53]Fifteen thousand women marched 
[02:57.01]in New York City 
[02:58.32]on March eighth nineteen 
[03:00.87]hundred and eight. 
[03:02.11]They marched to demand better pay, 
[03:05.41]shorter work hours, 
[03:07.46]and the right to vote.
[03:09.89]International Women's Day 
[03:12.75]is a public holiday 
[03:14.68]in several countries, 
[03:16.92]they include China, Russia,
[03:20.15]Bulgaria and Vietnam.
[03:23.45]And that's the VOA Special English 
[03:27.56]Development Report, 
[03:29.67]written by June Simms. 
[03:31.78]Tell us about the situation 
[03:33.78]of women where you are, 
[03:35.95]and will there be any local 
[03:38.69]celebrations of International 
[03:40.68]Women's Day? 
[03:41.99]Post the comment 
[03:43.67]on our website 51voa.com. 
[03:48.08]You can also find transcripts, 
[03:52.00]MP3s, and captioned videos 
[03:54.99]of our reports,
[03:56.48]I am Steve Ember.