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International Women's Rights Day

15 questions on the history of women's rights. March 8 traces its origins to a women workers' strike in 1917, the UN took it up and adopted a founding treaty in 1979, and a major world conference took place in 1995. Also on the program: the first woman in space in 1963, the first country to grant women the right to vote in 1893, the first female Nobel laureate in 1903, the abortion-rights law of 1975, the feminist essay of 1949, #MeToo in 2017 and women's share in parliament in 2024.

15

Questions

2

Minutes

Tip: Use keys 1-4 to answer quickly

The 15 quiz questions

Question 1 : What event on March 8, 1917 is often considered the origin of this day?

Possible answers:

  • The Petrograd women workers' strike
  • The London suffragettes' march
  • Olympe de Gouges' speech
  • The founding of the American feminist movement

Explanation: On March 8, 1917, women workers in Petrograd began a massive strike demanding bread and peace, triggering the February Revolution in Russia.

Question 2 : In what year did the UN officially designate March 8 as International Women's Day?

Possible answers:

  • 1945
  • 1962
  • 1977
  • 1991

Explanation: The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 1977 proclaiming March 8 as International Women's Day.

Question 3 : What major world conference on women's rights was held in 1995?

Possible answers:

  • The Nairobi Conference
  • The Beijing Conference
  • The Geneva Conference
  • The Copenhagen Conference

Explanation: The 4th World Conference on Women was held in Beijing in 1995. It produced the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a landmark text for gender equality.

Question 4 : In what year did French women vote for the first time?

Possible answers:

  • 1936
  • 1945
  • 1952
  • 1962

Explanation: French women voted for the first time on April 29, 1945, during municipal elections. The right to vote had been granted to them by ordinance on April 21, 1944.

Question 5 : Which country was the first to grant women the right to vote in 1893?

Possible answers:

  • The United Kingdom
  • Finland
  • New Zealand
  • The United States

Explanation: New Zealand became the first country to grant women the right to vote on September 19, 1893, thanks in particular to the activism of Kate Sheppard.

Question 6 : Who was the first woman to travel to space, in 1963?

Possible answers:

  • Mae Jemison
  • Sally Ride
  • Svetlana Savitskaïa
  • Valentina Terechkova

Explanation: Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963, aboard Vostok 6. She orbited Earth 48 times in nearly 3 days.

Question 7 : Which female politician championed the law legalizing abortion in France in 1975?

Possible answers:

  • Simone Veil
  • Simone de Beauvoir
  • Édith Cresson
  • Yvette Roudy

Explanation: Simone Veil, then Minister of Health, defended the law on voluntary termination of pregnancy before the National Assembly. The Veil Law was enacted on January 17, 1975.

Question 8 : Who was the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize, in 1903?

Possible answers:

  • Bertha von Suttner
  • Marie Curie
  • Rosalind Franklin
  • Dorothy Hodgkin

Explanation: Marie Curie received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel. She would receive a second Nobel (Chemistry) in 1911.

Question 9 : In France, since what year can a woman open a bank account without her husband's permission?

Possible answers:

  • 1945
  • 1958
  • 1965
  • 1975

Explanation: The law of July 13, 1965 reformed matrimonial regimes, allowing women to open a bank account and pursue a profession without their husband's authorization.

Question 10 : Which activist received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her fight for girls' education?

Possible answers:

  • Rigoberta Menchú
  • Wangari Maathai
  • Malala Yousafzai
  • Nadia Murad

Explanation: Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17, becoming the youngest laureate. She has been advocating for the right to education since surviving a Taliban assassination attempt in 2012.

Question 11 : Which author published 'The Second Sex', a foundational work of modern feminism, in 1949?

Possible answers:

  • Hannah Arendt
  • Virginia Woolf
  • Marguerite Yourcenar
  • Simone de Beauvoir

Explanation: Simone de Beauvoir published 'The Second Sex' in 1949. Her phrase 'One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman' became a symbol of global feminism.

Question 12 : In what year did France enshrine the principle of equal pay between men and women into law?

Possible answers:

  • 1965
  • 1972
  • 1983
  • 2006

Explanation: The law of December 22, 1972 established the principle of 'equal work, equal pay'. Despite this law, the average pay gap remains around 15% in France in 2024.

Question 13 : What international treaty adopted in 1979 is often called the 'bill of rights for women'?

Possible answers:

  • CEDAW
  • The Vienna Declaration
  • The Maputo Protocol
  • The Belém do Pará Convention

Explanation: CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) was adopted by the UN in 1979. It has been ratified by 189 countries.

Question 14 : In which country did the #MeToo movement gain worldwide momentum in 2017?

Possible answers:

  • France
  • The United States
  • The United Kingdom
  • Australia

Explanation: The #MeToo movement exploded in October 2017 in the United States after the revelations against producer Harvey Weinstein. The hashtag, created by Tarana Burke in 2006, went viral worldwide.

Question 15 : What is approximately the percentage of women in national parliaments worldwide in 2024?

Possible answers:

  • About 15%
  • About 27%
  • About 35%
  • About 42%

Explanation: According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women represent about 27% of parliamentarians worldwide in 2024. Rwanda holds the world record with over 61%.

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