Women across the world called for equal pay, reproductive rights, education, justice and decision-making jobs and celebrate progress toward female empowerment during events and demonstrations marking on Sunday.
Officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, International Women鈥檚 Day is commemorated in different ways and to varying degrees in places around the world. Protests are often political 鈥� and at times violent 鈥� rooted in women鈥檚 efforts to .
2026 marked the 115th year of International Women’s Day. This years’ theme was 鈥淕ive to Gain,鈥� with a focus on fundraising for organizations focused on women’s issues and less tangible forms of giving such as teaching peers, celebrating women and 鈥渃hallenging discrimination.鈥�
Women’s rights activists 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.
What is International Women鈥檚 Day?
International Women鈥檚 Day is a celebration 鈥� and a call to action 鈥� 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.
It is an official holiday in more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ukraine, Russia and Cuba, the only one in the Americas. In the United States, March is celebrated as Women鈥檚 History Month.
When did it start and why does it fall on March 8?
While the idea behind a women鈥檚 day originated in the U.S. with the American Socialist Party in 1909, it was a German feminist who pushed for a global commemoration during an international conference of socialist women held in 1910 in Copenhagen. The following year, events across Europe marked the day, and during World War I, women used it to protest the armed conflict, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.
International Women鈥檚 Day is observed on March 8 after a massive protest in Russia on Feb. 23, 1917, that led to the country鈥檚 eventual withdrawal from the war. At the time, Russia had not adopted the Gregorian calendar and still used the Julian calendar.
The U.N. began commemorating the holiday in 1975, which was International Women鈥檚 Year, and its General Assembly officially recognized the day two years later.
How is it being observed in places across the world?
Roughly 20,000 people attended a march for International Women鈥檚 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.
In Brazil, Sunday鈥檚 marches for served as a rallying cry against gender-based violence, fueled 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鈥檚 took place in January, but gained national traction this week when four suspects handed themselves over to authorities. At least 15 protests were planned across the country, with organizers calling for the defense of women鈥檚 lives and an end to .
In Chile, tens of thousands of women marched in Santiago and other cities to demand women鈥檚 rights, an event that has taken on special significance this year in the lead-up to the inauguration of far-right candidate Jos茅 Antonio Kast, who will assume the presidency Wednesday in what will represent the country鈥檚 most pronounced shift to the right since the end of a military dictatorship.
鈥淲ith Kast taking office in three days and with everything that is happening internationally, the Yankee offensive against the peoples of Latin America, we feel that this year鈥檚 march shouldn鈥檛 be just another one,鈥� Yamila Mart铆nez, a 31-year-old warehouse worker, told The Associated Press.
In Spain, tens of thousands of women took to the streets in Spain鈥檚 major cities, calling for equality and an end to violence against women as well as calls for an end to war in the Middle East and in support of oppressed women in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
鈥淥ur struggle is together with the women, both Iranian and Afghan. In this struggle, we are together. And we will fight for our rights, and they also need to know that we support them from Afghanistan,鈥� said Khadija Amin, an Afghan journalist, said at a march in Madrid.
Palestinian women in Gaza City reminisced about their lives before the war. The majority of them live starkly different lives 鈥� in tents that do little to protect them from winter rains and the scorching summer heat, and they spend hours every day in pursuit of basic necessities.
鈥淲e woke up at six to wait for the water trucks. We go to the charity kitchen and wait in line,鈥� said Wisal Badawi, as she was joined by other women carrying jerrycans and empty pots and waiting for food and water. 鈥淭he Palestinian woman is suffering.鈥�
In Puyo, an Amazonian town in Ecuador, a march took place with members of various Indigenous groups, many wearing traditional clothes. Women said they were there to raise their voices about the degradation of the environment, and oil and gas expansion.
鈥淭oday is about reporting to the world about the violation of rights that us Indigenous women have to endure 鈥� specifically the rights to nature,” said Ruth Pe帽afiel, 59, from the Kichwa community in the northern Amazon. 鈥淲e want to live in a healthy environment and in harmony with the forest, so we are asking for respect and that public policies for nature are put in place.鈥�
And in Peru, a 5-kilometer race in Lima drew some 7,500 participants to commemorate the day, while in the southern city of Cusco, banners were raised and drums resounded in a march with messages defending women鈥檚 lives. 鈥淭oday I raise my voice so that tomorrow no one is missing,鈥� one banner read.
Pakistan briefly detains several activists
Police in Pakistan鈥檚 capital briefly detained several women鈥檚 rights activists when they attempted to hold a rally in defiance of a government ban on public gatherings, officials and witnesses said. The detainees were later released.
Pakistan had imposed the ban on rallies over security reasons amid a surge in militant violence in the country. Organizers shared videos on social media showing some of the activists sitting inside a police vehicle in Islamabad.
In a statement, Aurat March, a network of women鈥檚 rights activists, said the participants had been peacefully exercising their right to protest. 鈥淲e strongly condemn the arrests of Aurat March participants and organizers.鈥�
Advocates for women protest Epstein in New Mexico
Advocates organized by Women’s March will rally outside of in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Sunday, where financier Jeffrey Epstein allegedly sexually abused and trafficked underage girls and young women.
Relatives of , who accused Britain鈥檚 Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, will speak at the event alongside other activists.
鈥淭his weekend, we are taking action because the same systems that shield powerful abusers at home are the ones perpetuating violence abroad,” Rachel O鈥橪eary Carmona, Executive Director of Women鈥檚 March, said in a statement. 鈥淭he years-long cover-up and protection of Jeffrey Epstein鈥檚 allies and co-conspirators exposed a culture of impunity that tells survivors their pain is negotiable when powerful men are involved.鈥�
What does the future hold for March 8?
Some say commemorating International Women鈥檚 Day is now more important than ever, as women have lost gains made in the last century, among them the 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court which ended constitutional protections that had been in place nearly 50 years.
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