For International Women’s Day
Women protest against oppression all over the world
03/08/2023 5:17 p.m
All over the world, women take to the streets for International Women’s Day. With loud slogans, they demonstrate against violence, oppression and unequal treatment. Demonstrators are also raising their voices in Afghanistan, where women are increasingly being deprived of their basic rights.
Women around the world protested against their oppression and unequal treatment on International Women’s Day. The first demonstrations took place in Thailand and Indonesia, among other places. Even in the Afghan capital of Kabul, around 20 women gathered to demonstrate for their rights, which were abolished by the radicalist Taliban. Thousands of women demonstrated in neighboring Pakistan, some of whom had to fight for the right to demonstrate in court.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took March 8 as an opportunity to honor the women “who work, teach, study, save, care for and fight for Ukraine”. He also recalled those who “sacrificed their lives” since Russia’s war of aggression began about a year ago. For his part, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin paid tribute to women who “do their duty”, especially in the military field.
Situation in Afghanistan worrying
The United Nations is currently dealing with women’s rights abuses in Afghanistan, Iran and many other countries in a two-week session of the UN Commission on Women’s Rights. At the start, UN Secretary-General António Guterres complained on Monday that real equality between women and men was “still 300 years away”.
The situation in Afghanistan is of particular concern, where the Taliban have largely banned women and girls from public life since August 2021. On Monday, the universities there reopened after the winter break – but only for men. On Tuesday, the EU imposed targeted sanctions for violence against women for the first time, which are aimed at the Taliban, among others.
“This is our day”
In Pakistan, women in several cities had to fight in court to be allowed to take to the streets on Wednesday. Around 2,000 women gathered in Lahore despite a ban. “We will no longer sit in silence,” said teacher Raail Akhtar. “This is our day, this is our hour.”
Protest marches and actions were also planned for the afternoon and evening in numerous European countries, including Spain and 150 cities and towns in France alone. In London, Madame Tussauds wanted to unveil a wax figure of British women’s rights activist Emmeline Pankhurst, who started her fight for women’s suffrage 120 years ago.
On International Women’s Day, the Federal Government pointed out that it was increasing its funds for the international advancement of women. The Development Ministry announced that the United Nations had been promised a contribution of 26 million euros for its women’s organization UN Women for 2023, almost twice as much as two years ago. This is “money well invested,” explained department head Svenja Schulze. The money should therefore primarily be used to finance projects that serve gender equality.
In the US, rallies were planned in particular to defend the right to abortion. In other countries in North and South America, the demonstrations are directed against rampant violence against women and the increasing number of femicides. Activists in Cuba called for a “virtual rally” in the online networks to draw attention to the phenomenon of femicide.