Women across the world will celebrate International Women's Day today.
To me, moving from "celebration" to action is why #WomensDay is so important. I hope you'll join me: http://t.co/ooBDvWav2M #IWD
From @melindagates on Twitter:Happy #WomensDay - a day of celebration that women can – and will – transform our societies http://t.co/Pa533zsiA4 #IWD
From @richardbranson on Twitter:Former Desperate Housewives' actress Eva Longoria has spoken about her wishes for women on International Women's Day and "every day of their lives".
John Lennon's widow and peace activist Yoko Ono has tweeted:
For International #WomensDay The Feminization Of Society & Sisters O Sisters http://t.co/cAAh5auKh1 For our sisters all over the world ?yoko
From @yokoono on Twitter:A global day to call for the education of all girls and women is to be held in honour of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban, it has been announced.
Her father Ziauddin and former prime minister Gordon Brown outlined plans for Malala Day as they appeared at the Women of the World Festival at London's Southbank Centre on International Women's Day.
Mr Brown said the issue of universal education for girls was in desperate need of a "liberation movement and a freedom fight for change".
Malala Day will be held on the girl's 16th birthday, July 12, and will be celebrated with a youth assembly at the United Nations in New York.It is hoped that young people from around the world will mark the day, aimed at providing education for the 32 million girls who do not currently have access.
Singers and musicians from around the world have come together for "One Woman", a song launched today to mark International Women's Day.
The song written for UN Women is a call for listeners to join the drive for women's rights and gender equality.
An Indian student who was gang-raped and murdered has been awarded the US State Department's International Women of Courage Award, a government statement said.
The case of the 23-year-old woman, dubbed "Nirbhaya" (Fearless) by the media, who was beaten, raped and tortured by six men on a bus in New Delhi in December, sparked a public outcry. She died of her injuries after being thrown out of the bus.
Read: Delhi gang rape trial begins
The award will be presented by Secretary of State John Kerry and First Lady Michelle Obama. The US State Department said:
"Known to India and the world as 'Nirbhaya', the courageous 23-year-old physiotherapy intern whose brutal gang rape on a moving bus in Delhi in December inspired widespread protests, has become the foundation of a popular movement to end violence against women in India."
Watch: Father of Indian rape victim calls for attackers to be hanged
International Women's Day will be celebrated in different ways across some parts of the world today.
The day is an official holiday in dozens of countries, including Afghanistan, China, Vietnam and Zambia.