Clara Josephin Eissner Zetkin (1857–1933) was a German Marxist theorist, activist, and advocate for women’s rights. In 1911, she served as one of the organizers of the first International Women’s Day, a global recognition of gender equality and the fight for equal rights and pay. Zetkin, who had trained as a journalist and teacher, became interested in socialism while attending school in Leipzig. By 1878, however, a nationwide ban on socialist activities forced her to flee the country. Zetkin left Germany for Switzerland and eventually ended up in Paris, where she became the companion of the Marxist organizer Ossip Zetkin (1850–1889), with whom she had two children.