Taliban in power in Afghanistan, massive repression of the protest provoked in Iran by the death of Mahsa Amini, questioning of the right to abortion in the United States, consequences of the war in Ukraine on women: the reasons for mobilization are many on this day of March 8. Officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, the International Day of Struggle for Women’s Rights is celebrated around the world.
The women “remain the first victims of wars and underrepresented in diplomatic negotiations”denounced Tuesday, March 7, official officials before the UN Security Council. “Gender equality is getting further and further away” And “At the current rate, [l’organisation] UN Women sets it at 300 years from now”, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Mondaytaking the example of Afghanistan where “women and girls have been erased from public life”. “Investing in women and girls is the surest way to improve the situation of all people, all communities and all countries”, Mr. Guterres recalled on Twitter on Wednesday.
Women and girls everywhere are demanding their rights – and their words reverberate around the world. Investing in… https://t.co/VCqLFxVLMl
“Widespread violation of women’s rights”
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Manua) on Wednesday called on the Taliban to end ” immediately “ to “draconian restrictions”. “Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world when it comes to women’s rights”, denounced the head of the mission, Rosa Otunbayeva. Universities reopened in this country on Monday after the long winter break, but only men were able to cross their threshold, women no longer allowed to study since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
Symbolic and unprecedented step on the eve of March 8, the EU adopted sanctions against the Taliban Minister of Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, “responsible for the widespread violation of women’s right to education”. Other individuals or entities responsible for violations of women’s rights in Iran, Russia, South Sudan, Burma or Syria have also been targeted by these sanctions.initially initiated by the Netherlands.
Prohibited gatherings, taboo subjects, virtual demonstration
Elsewhere in London Madame Tussauds museum will mark the day by unveiling a new wax statue of the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst who, in 1903, founded the Women’s Social and Political Union, to claim the right to vote for women. Across Europe, rallies are planned for Wednesday in several countries such as France, where demonstrations to demand “equality at work and in life” are organized in approximately 150 cities. A number significantly higher than in previous years, according to the organizers. The challenge will be placed in particular under the sign of the fight against the pension reform, accused of being unfair to women.
On the other hand, demonstrations were banned in Pakistan, a conservative and patriarchal country, after the authorities in Lahore, in the east of the country, considered that the signs and banners held up by the demonstrators were “controversial”. The topics discussed such as divorce, sexual harassment or menstruation, being taboo.
In Cuba, unable to demonstrate freely, independent feminist organizations for their part bypassed the official celebrations by mobilizing via a “virtual event” on social networks where they will raise awareness in particular on feminicides. In Mexico, it’s under the slogans “Not a single woman murdered” And “Against male violence and precarious work” that the demonstrators will march in the main cities of the country, where 969 feminicides have been recorded in 2022, according to official figures.
In Colombia, rallies are planned to demand action against the increase in the number of feminicides, which rose from 182 in 2020 to 614 last year, according to data from the public ministry.
“We are fighting against […] a patriarchy […] who fights relentlessly against our rights”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and First Lady Jill Biden will hand over to Washington the price of the contribution “to a better future” To “eleven extraordinary women from around the world”. Feminists will also mobilize in particular in the United States to defend the right to abortion, called into question in the country by the decision of the Supreme Court in June to revoke the judgment “Roe v. Wade » of 1973 guaranteeing this right. In Europe too, this right has recently been weakened in Hungary and Poland.
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On this International Women’s Rights Day, a multitude of rallies are planned in major cities around the world, including Madrid, which is usually the scene of a gigantic purple tide. “We are fighting against […] a patriarchy […] who fights relentlessly against our rights, such as abortion, which we have won by fighting”says the manifesto of the Madrid march, which will start at 6 p.m. (GMT).