130 million girls have undergone female genital mutilation . 4 million women and girls are bought and sold worldwide, either into marriage , prostitution or slavery. Two thirds of the 300 million children worldwide without access to education are girls. In Africa , HIV-positive women now outnumber infected men by 2 million. In India , it is estimated that more than 5,000 women are killed each year because their dowries are not enough.
Women are still under-represented in governments and political parties.
It is also a time to review the progress of women in the public arena and the workplace, as well as their struggle for equal status with men and full participation in society, justice and peace. International Women's Day is celebrated at the United Nations and in many countries is designated as a national holiday. The idea of an International Women's Day started in 1909 when the First National Women's Day was observed across the United States on February 28. In 1910, the Socialist International conference in Copenhagen, Denmark established an International Women's Day to honor the development of women's right movements. As a result, on March 19th Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland marked for the first time an International Women's Day.