International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 each year.

It is a day dedicated to marking the achievements of women, but also to bring attention to issues that women face such as gender equality and reproductive rights.

The Oxford International Women’s Festival has returned for 2023 and events have been held since February 25 and will continue until March 12.

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The annual celebration began in 1989 and the theme for 2023 is “Celebrating Women’s Lives”, which will focus on contributions by women to local, national and international communities. 

There are a variety of events to address this theme ranging from a Feminist Film Festival to other events such as the annual Dorothy Hodgkin Lecture as well as talks, discussion and debates.

 

The annual Dorothy Hodgkin Lecture is in partnership with the Oxford Association for Women in Science & Engineering.

It celebrates the achievements of Ms Hodgkin (1910-1994) who is the only woman from the UK to win a Nobel Laureate.

Professor of Physics Julia Yeomans is the speaker for 2023 and she will give a talk on physical theories surrounding living systems.

The talk which will be held on March 9 at 5.30pm in Somerville College is titled “Nature’s engines: Powering life.”

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The film festival has included a variety of titles by prominent female directors.

The organisers of the festival have also hosted a post-screening discussion before each viewing.

Films still to come include Coco Before Chanel (2009) which will be shown on March 12 at 2.45pm and 5.45pm.

It is a cinematic portrayal of the famous fashion designer.

The Perfect Candidate will also be shown on March 7 at 8.30pm.

 

The film comes from filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour and tells the tale of a Saudi woman who seeks to become the first female councillor in her town.

Oxford University have also put on a series of events to mark International Women’s Day on March 8.

Between 5.45 and 6.30pm on Wednesday (March 8) Harris Manchester College will host a service for International Women’s Day in the chapel.

The university will also be hosting its annual International Women’s Day talk.

This year Dr Yasmin Khan will be in conversation with Joeli Brearley.

Ms Brearly launched the campaign Pregnant Then Screwed on International Women’s Day eight years ago as a space for mothers to share their stories of discrimination.

Pregnant Then Screwed has since grown into a charity dedicated to supporting thousands of women each year and ending the motherhood penalty.

You can see the full program of events for the Oxford International Women’s Festival here.