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Express Tribune
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
World celebrates International Women's Day
Women MPs pose together in the House of Commons Chamber for a group photo to celebrate International Women's Day in London. Photo: AFP Women took to the streets of cities across Europe, Africa and elsewhere to mark International Women's Day with demands for ending inequality and gender-based violence, The Guardian reported on Saturday. On the Asian side of Turkey's biggest city Istanbul, a rally in Kadiköy saw members of dozens of women's groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine. The colorful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck. The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared 2025 the Year of the Family. Protesters pushed back against the idea of women's role being confined to marriage and motherhood, carrying banners reading "Family will not bind us to life" and "We will not be sacrificed to the family." Critics have accused the government of overseeing restrictions on women's rights and not doing enough to tackle violence against women. The Turkish president in 2021 withdrew his country from a European treaty, dubbed the Istanbul Convention, that protects women from domestic violence. Turkey's "We Will Stop Femicides" platform says 394 women were killed by men in 2024. "There is bullying at work, pressure from husbands and fathers at home and pressure from patriarchal society. We demand that this pressure be reduced even further," Yaz Gulgun, 52, said. In many other European countries, women also protested against violence, for better access to gender-specific healthcare, equal pay and other issues in which they don't get the same treatment as men.
Boston Globe
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
International Women's Day protests demand equal rights and an end to discrimination, sexual violence
Critics have accused the government of overseeing restrictions on women's rights and not doing enough to tackle violence against women. Advertisement Erdogan in 2021 withdrew Turkey from a European treaty, dubbed the Istanbul Convention, that protects women from domestic violence. Turkish rights group We Will Stop Femicides Platform says that 394 women were killed by men in 2024. 'There is bullying at work, pressure from husbands and fathers at home and pressure from patriarchal society. We demand that this pressure be reduced even further,' Yaz Gulgun, 52, said. In many other European countries, women also protested against violence, for better access to gender-specific health care, equal pay and other issues in which they don't get the same treatment as men. In Poland, activists opened a center across from the parliament building in Warsaw where women can go to have abortions with pills, either alone or with other women. Opening the center on International Women's Day across from the legislature was a symbolic challenge to authorities in the traditionally Roman Catholic nation, which has one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws. From Athens to Madrid, Paris, Munich, Zurich and Belgrade and in many more cities across the continent, women marched to demand an end to treatment as second-class citizens in society, politics, family and at work. In Madrid, protesters held up big hand-drawn pictures depicting Gisele Pélicot, the woman who was drugged by her now ex-husband in France over the course of a decade so that she could be raped by dozens of men while unconscious. Pélicot has become a symbol for women all over Europe in the fight against sexual violence. Advertisement In Nigeria's capital, Lagos, thousands of women gathered at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, dancing and signing and celebrating their womanhood. Many were dressed in purple — the traditional color of the women's liberation movement. In Russia, the women's day celebrations had a more official tone, with honor guard soldiers presenting yellow tulips to girls and women during a celebration in St. Petersburg. In Berlin, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for stronger efforts to achieve equality and warned against tendencies to roll back progress already made. 'Globally, we are seeing populist parties trying to create the impression that equality is something like a fixed idea of progressive forces,' he said. He gave an example of " large tech companies that have long prided themselves on their modernity and are now, at the behest of a new American administration, setting up diversity programs and raving about a new 'masculine energy' in companies and society." In South America, some of the marches were organized by groups protesting the killings of women known as femicides. Hundreds of women in Ecuador marched through the streets of Quito to steady drumbeats and held signs that opposed violence and the 'patriarchal system.' 'Justice for our daughters!' some demonstrators yelled in support of women slain in recent years. In Bolivia, thousands of women began marching late Friday, with some scrawling graffiti on the walls of courthouses demanding that their rights be respected and denouncing impunity in femicides, with less than half of those cases reaching a sentencing. Advertisement
Euronews
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
People march in cities around the world on International Women's Day
People around the world joined forces to march against patriarchal societies, the gender gap and violence against women in rallies in cities across the world. ADVERTISEMENT Hundreds of thousands of people marched in cities around the world on March 8th to mark International Women's Day. Tens of thousands of people gathered on the streets of Madrid, rallying in defence of women's rights and advocating for an anti-racist, feminist agenda. The march, organised by the feminist network 8M Commission, saw participants braving the rain whilst chanting against gender inequality and racism. The Spanish government reported 25,000 participants against 20,000 in 2024, although organisers claimed the number was closer to 80,000. Rome marches against gender violence In Rome, the demonstration focused on fighting gender violence and closing the gender gap. The city hosted the largest demonstration in Italy, however Italians were marching in 60 cities across the country to raise awareness about violence against women. The slogan of the demonstration, 'Not One Less,' echoed the ongoing fight against femicide and gender-based violence. While in Istanbul, Turkey, thousands more took to the streets to also protest against gender violence and the growing pressure on women in society. The rally in Istanbul's Kadikoy district was marked by speeches, music, and dance, celebrating women's strengths whilst also highlighting the urgent need for societal change. However, a heavy police presence, including officers in riot gear and water cannon trucks, tightly controlled the demonstration. Turkish women fight a patriarchal society The Turkish government declared 2025 the "Year of the Family," a move that many protesters criticised, seeing it as an attempt to further confine women to traditional roles of marriage and motherhood. The government's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention in 2021, which was designed to protect women from domestic violence, has also been a source of anger among activists. The We Will Stop Femicides Platform reported that 394 women were killed by men in Turkey in 2024. Yaz Gulgun, a 52-year-old pensioner, spoke out against the rising rates of femicide in the country, calling for better legal protections and a more supportive police force. She said 'There is bullying at work, pressure from husbands and fathers at home and pressure from patriarchal society. We demand that this pressure be reduced even further.' While Selvi Alkancelik, a 58-year-old demonstrator, pushed on the desire for women to be free from the restrictions imposed by a patriarchal society, saying 'Let women be free. I want them to go somewhere without asking permission from her husband, to go anywhere without fear when she returns home at night, to go anywhere freely without fear. I want freedom for all women in the world." Despite a ban on public demonstrations by The Beyoğlu district governor, in Taksim Square, many women plan to gather later in the evening for a Feminist Night March, pushing back against restrictions on their right to protest. Authorities blocked off areas of Istanbul and closed metro stations to prevent these gatherings, citing concerns over public order.
The Guardian
08-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Global celebrations and protests mark International Women's Day
Women took to the streets of cities across Europe, Africa and elsewhere to mark International Women's Day with demands for ending inequality and gender-based violence. On the Asian side of Turkey's biggest city Istanbul, a rally in Kadiköy saw members of dozens of women's groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine. The colorful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck. The government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared 2025 the Year of the Family. Protesters pushed back against the idea of women's role being confined to marriage and motherhood, carrying banners reading 'Family will not bind us to life' and 'We will not be sacrificed to the family.' Critics have accused the government of overseeing restrictions on women's rights and not doing enough to tackle violence against women. The Turkish president in 2021 withdrew his country from a European treaty, dubbed the Istanbul Convention, that protects women from domestic violence. Turkey's 'We Will Stop Femicides' platform says 394 women were killed by men in 2024. 'There is bullying at work, pressure from husbands and fathers at home and pressure from patriarchal society. We demand that this pressure be reduced even further,' Yaz Gulgun, 52, said. In many other European countries, women also protested against violence, for better access to gender-specific healthcare, equal pay and other issues in which they don't get the same treatment as men. In Poland, activists opened a center across from the parliament building in Warsaw where women can go to have abortions with pills, either alone or with other women. Opening the center on International Women's Day across from the legislature was a symbolic challenge to authorities in the traditionally Roman Catholic nation, which has one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws. From Athens to Madrid, Paris, Munich, Zurich and Belgrade, and in many more cities across the continent, women marched to demand an end to treatment as second-class citizens in society, politics, family and at work. In Madrid, protesters held up big hand-drawn pictures depicting Gisèle Pelicot, the woman who was drugged by her now ex-husband in France over the course of a decade so that she could be raped by dozens of men while unconscious. Pelicot has become a symbol for women all over Europe in the fight against sexual violence. In the Nigerian capital of Lagos, thousands of women gathered at the Mobolaji Johnson stadium, dancing and signing and celebrating their womanhood. Many were dressed in purple – the traditional color of the women's liberation movement. In Russia, the women's day celebrations had a more official tone, with honor guard soldiers presenting yellow tulips to girls and women during a celebration in St Petersburg. In Berlin, the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, called for stronger efforts to achieve equality and warned against tendencies to roll back progress already made.
