On
March 8, Azerbaijanis in the U.S.
and around the world celebrate the International
Women's Day.(IWD). Observed for the first time in the United States in 1909, it became an
international holiday of women in Azerbaijan as well. Year 2012 marks the 101st
anniversary of the first world-wide celebration of the IWD.
Historically,
women played an important role in a traditionally Muslim Azerbaijani society.
In fact, in 1919, ahead of the United States and the United Kingdom, the Parliament of Azerbaijan
Democratic Republic (ADR) voted to extend universal suffrage rights
to
women. Few years later, a Statue of Liberated Woman was erected in
capital Baku to symbolize the emancipation of women in Azerbaijani
society.
