Women all over the world were honoured on Sunday, March 8, in celebration of International Women’s Day to recognise their numerous achievements while advocating for accelerated gender equality.
This particular celebration on March 8 every year highlights the strengths, achievements, and the call of every woman in society for fair treatment, respect, and their fight for equal rights.
The plight of women
For years, women have been subjected to unfair treatment and abuse.
According to the United Nations, women and girls have just 64% of the legal rights of men, leaving them turned away, revictimised, or priced out of legal support.
More countries are also lacking measures and laws to protect women.
Globally, 54% of countries lack consent-based legal definitions of rape, while 72% allow child marriage in all or some circumstances.
Adding to the plight of women are the laws that discriminate on the basis of gender.
In addition, some countries do not have legislation that mandates equal remuneration for work of equal value, the absence of which contributes to gender pay gaps.
As a result, equal treatment for all remains unattained, with women continuing to be the ones most affected.
With persistent inequalities in how women are treated across countries, celebrating International Women’s Day becomes even more important to raise awareness of these ongoing issues and to call for concrete action toward a more inclusive world.
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2026 UN campaign
This year, the United Nations celebrates International Women’s Day under the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.”
Under the theme, everyone is being called to fight for justice and equality for all women, and to dismantle all barriers to equal justice, such as discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls.
How is justice obtained for all women?
According to the Commission on the Status of Women, in order to achieve justice for all – including women – a whole-of-society approach should be implemented.
Advancing system reform requires transformative legal reform.
These reforms should be co-created by governments with the participation of women’s rights organisations and movements.
In order to achieve these reforms, adequate government funding plays an important role as it will serve as the underlying driver of women’s and girls’ access to justice.
UN Women said that justice for women and girls is also obtained by creating laws that protect them from violence and end impunity, laws that prevent and end discrimination, establishing justice systems that believe in women and girls, without bias, providing legal aid that all women and girls can access and afford, and giving support to recover when rights are violated.
International Women’s Day is an important occasion that honours women and recognises their rights, freedom, and safety.
This day is not just to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women, but it is also a reminder that there is still a lot of progress to be made before women everywhere can fully enjoy these rights and freedoms.
Women around the world continue to hope for a future where they are celebrated, respected, and valued every day, not just on a single day each year.
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