Cibeles Fountain and Madrid City Hall lit for International Women's Day, Madrid, Spain

© dpa picture alliance/Alam

Celebrating women. International Women's Day

On International Women's Day, we're at Madrid's iconic Cibeles Fountain and City Hall, which have been lit up in purple—one of the day's official colors, representing justice and dignity. Each year, marchers pass by the Great Mother of the Gods on her chariot drawn by lions, as they turn out in their thousands to campaign for gender equality in Spain's capital city.

International Women's Day has its roots in the US labor movement in the early 20th century. In 1908, 15,000 women marched in New York City for better working conditions and the right to vote and a national women's day was declared in 1909. The following year, German activist Clara Zetkin put forward the idea of holding an international women's day at a conference in Copenhagen. She got unanimous backing and the first one was celebrated on March 19, 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany. It wasn't until 1975 that it was officially recognised by the United Nations.

These days, International Women's Day is observed on March 8 in many countries around the world, a date to celebrate women's achievements and to continue to campaign for full gender equality.