You Don't Have Women's Day in America?

Last week, March 8th, we celebrated Women’s Day here in Azerbaijan (and in many other countries throughout the world). It’s just like it sounds – a holiday for women because they are women. Personally I don’t understand it. Why? It’s celebrating something that you can’t control and on a day that has no significance (in contrast to say, Independence Day or Veteran’s Day). But it’s just like any other national holiday, only with presents! People get the day off work and the schools are closed. Students bring presents for their female teachers, men bring presents for their female co-workers, etc. I now have an excess of perfume (a very popular gift here) as well as artificial flower bouquets. I asked if there’s a Men’s Day and was told that there was when Azerbaijan was a part of the Soviet Union but that there isn’t now. So while I think the idea is nice, it just seems like it’s emphasizing women, and why would you need to emphasize women if everyone is equal, especially if there isn’t a Men’s Day? Isn’t the best way to recognize equality to show it with equal treatment?