26 August,2020 12:17 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
This picture has been used for representational purposes
August 26 is observed as World Equality Day in the United States. The day celebrates 100 years of American women, who protested for a long time for their suffrage, attaining their constitutional right to vote.
The World Equality Day was first celebrated in 1972 after then US President Richard Nixon gave an official proclamation. Since then, the day is being marked to explain citizens the importance of equality in the smooth functioning of the system.
Lauding the women who protested for their rights to suffrage, former US President Barack Obama once wrote in his proclamation for World Equality Day, "Nearly one century ago, with boundless courage and relentless commitment, dedicated women who had marched, advocated, and organized for the right to cast a vote finally saw their efforts rewarded on August 26, 1920, when the 19th Amendment was certified and the right to vote was secured. In the decades that followed, that precious right has bolstered generations of women and empowered them to stand up, speak out, and steer the country they love in a more equal direction."
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This year, World Equality Day celebrates its 100th year after the Nineteen Amendment of the Constitution that had denied voting citizens of the United States on the basis of gender, was adopted in 1920.
Ahead of the World Equality Day, Former First Lady Michelle Obama took to Twitter, saying, "The struggle for women's suffrage was long - and even longer for women of color - but generations of women knew that our vote was our voice." She urged people to go out and vote for the Presidential elections to be held in the US in November this year.
US Ambassador to India Ken Juster tweeted, "On this #WomensEqualityDay, we honor those across the world who continue to work for gender equality."
The Indian Embassy in France also tweeted, "Today as we celebrate Women's Equality Day, let us all continue to re-imagine & re-invent a world where being a #woman should not be a hurdle in your path to success."
The colour purple is symbolic of women's equality and signifies justice and dignity. Therefore, you can show your solidarity on the occasion by wearing clothes and accessories of the colour or tying purple ribbons on your arm or wrist.
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