Protesters on International Women’s Day Demand Equal Rights, End to Discrimination and Violence

Women across the world took to the streets on International Women’s Day, rallying against inequality, gender-based violence, and discrimination. Protests and demonstrations spanned Europe, Africa, and South America, with thousands calling for justice and systemic change.

In Istanbul, Turkey, a demonstration in the Kadikoy district drew members from numerous women’s organizations, who gathered under a heavy police presence. Protesters carried banners rejecting the government’s emphasis on traditional family roles, with messages such as “Family will not bind us to life” and “We will not be sacrificed to the family.” The rally comes amid concerns over the Turkish government’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty designed to protect women from domestic violence. According to Turkey’s We Will Stop Femicides Platform, 394 women were killed by men in the country in 2024.

Women in other parts of Europe also voiced their demands for change. In Poland, activists symbolically opened a facility across from the parliament in Warsaw to provide access to abortion pills, challenging the nation’s strict abortion laws. Meanwhile, demonstrators in Madrid highlighted the case of Gisele Pélicot, a woman drugged and sexually assaulted over a decade by her now ex-husband. Her story has become a rallying point for the fight against sexual violence across the continent.

In Africa, thousands of women gathered in Lagos, Nigeria, at Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, celebrating their cause through music and dance, many dressed in purple, the color traditionally associated with women’s liberation. In South America, marches were largely focused on denouncing femicides. Hundreds of women in Quito, Ecuador, carried signs decrying gender-based violence and demanding justice for victims, while protests in Bolivia turned to courthouse walls as demonstrators scrawled messages against impunity in crimes against women.

Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking in Berlin, warned against backlash to progress made in gender equality, citing attempts by populist movements to roll back women’s rights. He criticized corporations for shifting their stance on diversity efforts in response to political changes, warning against the erosion of hard-won progress.

International Women’s Day continues to serve as a global platform for addressing gender disparities, with demonstrators urging governments to take meaningful action against discrimination, violence, and societal inequalities.