International Women’s Day – March 8th
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge gender equality.
International Women’s Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years, as have many of the issues still impacting women’s advancement. Since 1911, IWD belongs to all who care about women’s equality. Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Take action to forge gender parity. All IWD activity is valid, that’s what makes IWD so inclusive.
One of the best ways to forge gender equality is to understand what works and to do more of this, faster.
Accelerate Action is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activity that positively impact women’s advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation. Significant barriers to gender equality remain, yet with the right action and support, positive progress can be made for women everywhere.And one of the biggest ways to help Accelerate Action for gender equality is to Support the Supporters.
With so many impactful groups across the world delivering critical work that assists women and girls, we can all lend our support in solidarity. That’s why for 2025, IWD sees a big call-to-action for all IWD events to incorporate an element of women-focused fundraising.
From grassroots groups to large-scale bodies, philanthropic entities are working tirelessly to support and advance women and girls. So let’s step forward in solidarity and commit to helping these groups for IWD 2025 and beyond. Through IWD GIVING, together let’s make March 8 one of the biggest GIVING DAYS of the year. And remember, it’s not solely large global charities calling for financial donations on IWD. There are thousands of grassroots charities working tenaciously for women’s advancement where funds can be directed as well.
“Her Rights, Our Future, Right Now” is the theme chosen by UN Human Rights to celebrate International Women’s Day 2025.
Progress on women’s rights and gender equality, driven by powerful feminist movements and women’s rights activists across the globe, have profoundly transformed our societies, making them fairer, more resilient and peaceful. Gender equality lies at the core of all human rights, human dignity, and our shared future. Yet these achievements cannot be taken for granted. Women’s rights and gender equality are needed more than ever.
Upholding women’s rights leads to a better future for all
Promoting and protecting gender equality makes sense for justice, for prosperity and for a better common future. Yet around the world we are witnessing a growing pushback against women’s rights and gender equality, advances which were painstakingly made over decades.
Gender-based violence is persistent, and is rampant online. Women and girls have a right to live free from violence. Violence affects their physical and mental health and well-being, and also their participation in the economic and social development of societies. Societies prosper when such violence is prevented and addressed.
Around the world, women and girls are playing a critical role in advancing gender equality, embracing forward-looking and practical solutions for a better future for everybody. Women and girls are at the forefront of efforts to protect online spaces from threats and violence.
Preventing and addressing gender-based violence against women is a human rights obligation. With its partners, UN Human Rights works to improve legal frameworks and governance systems, providing technical assistance to member States and all relevant stakeholders.
When women have choices, we create better societies
Sexual and reproductive health and rights are also indispensable to women’s and girls’ ability to exercise all other human rights and for the achievement of gender equality.
They are at the core of women and girls’ right to equality, autonomy and ability to make their own choices about their bodies and lives, including if when and how many children they have, free of discrimination, violence and coercion.
Everyone has the undeniable right to make decisions about their own body and lives. Activists and feminist movements fought long and hard for ground-breaking changes. Yet today even the very concept of gender equality is being questioned.
Courageous women human rights activists and defenders are leading the charge to recommit to the promises of rights and dignity for all women and girls. When women have choices, we create better societies. UN Human Rights will continue to support such efforts all over the world.
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Marie Curie, Poland
Marie Curie was a pioneering Polish-born physicist famous for her discovery of polonium and radium and research into radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and the only person to win the award twice when she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1911. While Marie Curie completed her work in France, she had a strong love for her home country. Polonium – the first chemical element she discovered – is named after Poland.
2. Rosa Parks, USA
Rosa Parks became a symbol for the Civil Rights Movement in the USA when she refused to give up her seat for a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama and was arrested in 1955. This single act of defiance inspired important Civil Rights Movement figures including Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks’ action led to a more than year-long bus boycott which ended with the U.S Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation on buses was unconstitutional. She is remembered today for her bravery, dignity and strength in the struggle to end segregation in the USA.
3. Oprah Winfrey, USA
Many of us will recognise Oprah for her impressive run as a much-loved TV show host. Today, she is celebrated as a “media mogul” and philanthropist who has received a great number of awards for her humanitarian work. While she was born into poverty in rural Mississippi, through hard work and determination, Oprah became the first black female billionaire and gives back through various charities. Oprah is one of the most well-known and influential people in the world!
4. Malala Yousofazi, Pakistan
Malala Yousofazi has achieved incredible things at only 25! The Pakistani education activist survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban in 2012 at age 15. The group targeted Malala for being a vocal promoter of girls’ education. Since surviving the attack, this brave young woman continues to champion education rights. Malala has published books and gave a speech at the United Nations in 2013. At 17, she became the youngest person ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2020, she graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
5. Anne Frank, Germany & the Netherlands
Immortalized through the diary she kept while hiding from Nazi persecution during WWII, Anne Frank gained fame after the war when her diary was published. She kept her diary throughout her time living in a secret annexe in The Netherlands. Today, Anne Frank is one of the most widely-known victims of the Holocaust. Her diary was published by her father Otto, who survived the war, after he learned that Anne wished to share her stories about her life in hiding. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank has sold more than 30 million copies and has been translated into around 70 languages. It offers a poignant look into what it was like to be living as a young Jewish girl during the Nazi occupation. Her father hoped it would show readers the dangers of discrimination, hatred and racism.
6. Maya Angelou, USA
Today, people best remember Maya Angelou as a literary legend. The American poet, memoirist and civil rights activist published 30+ books and received numerous honours and accolades. She lived in Egypt and Ghana in the early 1960s and worked with American Civil Rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. Maya Angelou also won several awards as a stage and TV actor. In 2011, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the highest honour a US citizen can receive.
7. Wangari Mathaai, Kenya
Wangari Maathai was an environmental and political activist from Kenya. Her campaigns showcased the power of grassroots movements and how powerful women can be! Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement which campaigned for the planting of trees as well as women’s rights and environmental conservation and impacted women’s lives in many African countries. She also worked in the Kenyan parliament for several years. Wangari Maathai was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize when she won the award in 2004!
8. Emmeline Pankhurst, UK
Emmeline Pankhurst was an activist from Manchester, England, who established the United Kingdom’s Suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. The group achieved its goal after decades of commitment and campaigning. As a devout activist for women’s rights, Emmeline without a doubt had a huge impact on the lives of women living today.
9. Frida Kahlo, Mexico
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist known for her haunting and stunning self-portraits. Today she is one of the best-known artists of the 20th century! She struggled with chronic pain throughout most of her life. After a bus accident, she had to undergo over 30 surgeries. She taught herself to paint while she was recovering from the accident and surgeries. She explored themes of identity and death. In the years since her own death, her popularity has soared and she has become an important figure for feminism and LGBTQI+ rights.
References
https://expatexplore.com/blog/international-womens-day-most-inspirational-women/
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