International Women`s Day in Uzbekistan

March 8

International Women’s Day in Uzbekistan is the most anticipated holiday for many women in the country. Its observance on the 8th of March coincides with the early signs of spring, a season long associated with feminine beauty and charm.

The holiday has its origins in the early 20th-century struggles of Clara Zetkin and other feminists who held protests in demand of increased wages and improved working conditions for women. What began as a movement in New York City spread across the ocean to Europe, only to evolve in later decades into an annual Soviet Union celebration of the female gender which today is largely dissociated from any social or political activity.

Unlike Mother’s Day observed in numerous countries, International Women’s Day celebrates women and girls of every age, be they wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, girlfriends, colleagues or classmates. On International Women’s Day in Uzbekistan, females are congratulated by everyone around them and are gifted with jewelry, perfume, flowers, sweets and gifts carefully selected by the men in their lives. Banquets and luncheons are held and toasts, poems and songs recited in honor of the female gender, while special performances filled with song and dance are held everywhere from public television and plazas to universities and schools.

In Tashkent, an annual Women’s Day performance is held at Istiklol Palace, a massive concert hall and one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city. National pop stars and other famous figures offer congratulations through a special Women’s Day presentation which is anticipated by many each year.