Officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day is commemorated in different ways and to varying degrees in places around the world. Protests are usually political, rooted in women’s efforts to improve their rights as workers.
South Korean activists gathered a day ahead of International Women's Day in Seoul, on March 7, with banners reading "Complete the revolution of light". © Ahn Young-joon, AP
2026 marks the 115th year of International Women's Day. This years' theme is “Give to Gain”, with a focus on fundraising for organisations focused on women's issues and less tangible forms of giving such as teaching peers, celebrating women and “challenging discrimination”.
Women's rights activists on Sunday rallied in Karachi, Pakistan and shouted slogans during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey. In China and Russia, vendors sold flowers wrapped in pink and local workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, lifted fists and umbrellas as they celebrated.
Local workers take part in International Women's Day celebrations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. © Heng Sinith, AP
International Women’s Day is a global celebration – and a call to action – marked by demonstrations, mostly of women, around the world, ranging from combative protests to charity runs. Some celebrate the economic, social and political achievements of women, while others urge governments to guarantee equal pay, access to health care, justice for victims of gender-based violence and education for girls.
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It is an official holiday in more than 20 countries, including Burkina Faso, Ukraine, Russia and Cuba, the only one in the Americas. In the United States, March is celebrated as Women’s History Month.
Women's right activists rally in Karachi, Pakistan. © Ali Raza, AP
As in other aspects of life, social media plays an important role during International Women’s Day, particularly by amplifying attention to demonstrations held in countries with repressive governments toward women and dissent in general.
Roughly 20,000 people attended a march for International Women’s Day in Berlin. German news agency dpa reported Sunday that the crowd was double the amount police had expected. Speakers at the event decried violence against women in Germany, as well as gender discrimination.
Protesters march in Berlin under the motto "feminist, in solidarity, unionised". © Christian Mang, Reuters
In Brazil, Sunday’s marches for International Women’s Day served as a rallying cry against gender-based violence, fuelled by the latest case to outrage the country involving the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Copacabana.
The case in Rio de Janeiro’s famed, beachside neighbourhood took place in January, but gained national traction this week when four suspects handed themselves over to authorities.
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At least 15 protests were planned across the country, with organisers calling for the defense of women’s lives and an end to femicide.
Women on stilts, from the collective Gigantes na Luta, hold plastic sunflowers in the air during a march in Rio de Janeiro. © Pilar Olivares, Reuters
Globally, a woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by a family member or partner, according to UN figures, and the number of women being exposed to conflict has significantly jumped over the past decade.
A woman holds a banner reading "Feminists against imperialist war" at a protest in Chile's Santiago, echoing condemnation of the Middle East conflict at rallies around the world. © Rodrigo Arangua, AFP
Some say commemorating International Women’s Day is now more important than ever, as women have lost gains made in the last century, among them the 2022 decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn a nationwide right to abortion, which ended constitutional protections that had been in place nearly 50 years.
The US decision on abortion has reverberated across Europe’s political landscape, forcing the issue back into public debate in some countries at a time when far-right nationalist parties are gaining influence.
Members of the feminist group "Les Rosies" hold their fist in the air at a rally in Paris. © Kenzo Tribouillard, AFP
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
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