Supporters of women’s rights are celebrating International Women’s Day today at events ranging from a reception in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to a women’s business conference in the United Arab Emirates to a self-defense forum in Australia.

In Rwanda, a “Thanks for Giving” parade is being organized by women who have been selling baskets to Macy’s department store in New York and whose lives have improved because of it.

An American women’s rights advocate, Willa Shalit, and a vice president of public relations for Macy’s corporate marketing, Ronnie Taffet, set up a partnership under which the store began selling the finely woven baskets last summer. Last year sales totaled 8,000 units; the hope is to reach 50,000 this year. The pieces, which Ms. Taffet describes as “objets,” sell for $30 to $90 each.

“The baskets were being grabbed by customers as the first cartons were being unpacked,” Ms. Taffet said. “The online inventory sold out in minutes.” The store is going to have the baskets on sale during the month of March, and then offer them again in the months before the holidays, Ms. Taffet said. “This is not China. We can’t just gear up production.”

That may be true, but the organizers have enlisted more than 2,000 weavers from all over the country. The “trade not aid” program has already generated more than $100,000 and is having considerable impact, according to Ms. Shalit. She pointed out that “Rwanda is a tiny country, smaller than New Jersey, with only 7 million people.” Because of the horrors of the 1994 genocide, 70% of Rwanda’s citizens are women, and most households are led by those widowed during the war or very young women trying to raise even younger siblings.

The effects of this micro-investment are heartwarming, Ms. Shalit said. In a country where the per capita income is $17 a month, the women making baskets for Macy’s stand out, earning as much as eight times the average. Ms. Taffet said many of the women involved now have bank accounts for the first time and can afford writing tablets and shoes for their children, so that they can go to school.

Though the partnership clearly has a humanitarian goal, Ms. Taffet said it is also good for her company. “First and foremost, this is a great opportunity for Macy’s customers. This is a business partnership,” she said. On the other hand, Ms. Taffet is proud of the enthusiasm shown for this project by the workers and the management of Macy’s. “There is not one person that’s been a part of this project that hasn’t done it with pure joy.”

That enthusiasm seems to be returned. When President Kagame of Rwanda was in New York last fall for a U.N. session, he personally traveled to Macy’s to thank the company for helping so many Rwandan families in need. Ms. Shalit said the country has more women in government than any other country in the world, which makes it a perfect place to celebrate International Women’s Day.