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Women from Kabul to Madrid took to the streets to celebrate International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day, women worldwide took to the streets to protest against various issues affecting them. Some of the complaints included the Taliban’s ban on women’s education in Afghanistan, Iran’s repression of protests, and new US restrictions on abortion rights. While some cities witnessed large turnouts, others faced bans or restrictions on the protests. Women in Madrid, Barcelona, Istanbul, Pakistan, Thailand, and Indonesia marched, while women in Hong Kong had to cancel their protest due to police summons.

As night fell in Madrid, enormous crowds of purple-clad women filled the city’s tree-lined boulevards, singing and shouting slogans to the rhythmic beat of drumming.

A 52-year-old kitchen worker named Mariam Ferradas stated, “Both of my grandmothers fought for us to have certain freedoms that people are now attempting to take away from us, so it’s extremely important for me to continue the fight.”

“We must be here,” explained Alejandra, another demonstrator wearing a flower-adorned headband.

Organizers estimated that hundreds of thousands participated in the demonstration, but officials placed the number at 27,000.

Earlier in Barcelona, several thousand students dressed in purple marched through the city centre while carrying banners that read “Feminism means fighting” and “We’re brave and we want freedom.”

Thousands of women in Istanbul defied a local protest ban and staged a “Feminist Night March” under the watchful eye of the police, but they were unable to reach Taksim Square because armed security personnel had blocked the entrances.

They marched through the sidestreets, some carrying flares and shouting “government resign” while whistling and chanting.

The march occurred at the end of a day in which three more women were murdered, according to the DHA news agency in Turkey.

Since last year’s Women’s Day, 328 women have been killed in Turkey, according to the Stop Feminicides platform.

Infrequent unrest in Kabul
Earlier, an AFP correspondent witnessed 20 women holding a rare demonstration in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, which the United Nations has deemed the “most repressive country in the world” regarding women’s rights.

Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban government has imposed numerous restrictions on women and girls in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islam.

Thousands also participated in rallies across Pakistan, despite the government’s efforts to prevent them on account of their controversial slogans, which included references to divorce, sexual harassment, and menstruation.

Thailand and Indonesia also held rallies, but Hong Kong organisers cancelled a rare, sanctioned demonstration after the police repeatedly summoned activists.

In France, demonstrators marched in 150 cities and towns to demand “equality both at work and in life” in protests centred on the fight against a pension reform that critics say is unfair to women and is widely unpopular.

“Extreme” setbacks
In Washington, US Vice President Joe Biden warned that “despite decades of progress, the rights of women and girls are still under attack in far too many places around the world,” citing Afghanistan, Russia, and Iran.

And in Abu Dhabi, former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton stated that progress on issues affecting women and girls had been “dramatically set back” by the Covid pandemic and “organised pushback” against women’s advancement.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky lauded women for their central role in defending the country against the Russian invasion, citing those who “teach, study, rescue, heal, and fight — fight for Ukraine.”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a call for the “immediate and unconditional release” of 73 women journalists who cover global conflicts, sounding the alarm about their current incarceration.

It was stated that women journalists have paid the price for being on the front lines of recent crises. Eleven of the twelve women journalists detained in Iran were arrested in the wake of the Amini protests, with two facing charges that could result in the death penalty, according to the report.

Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurd who was detained for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women, died in custody last year.

Meanwhile, a study published on Wednesday revealed that Brazil experienced 1,410 femicides in 2016 — the highest number since records began in 2015.

Statistics from the United Nations indicate that Brazil is one of the most violent countries in the world for women, with a murder rate of 3.5 per 100,000 female residents.

Abortion rights in the spotlight
This week, the European Union sanctioned those responsible for violence and rights violations against women in Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Russia, South Sudan, and Syria. The United Kingdom followed suit on Wednesday, targeting those responsible for gender-based violence in Iran, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Myanmar.

Following the US Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed a woman’s constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, feminists will demonstrate on Wednesday in support of abortion rights.

Within a few months, French President Emmanuel Macron declared in Paris, his government would introduce a bill to enshrine abortion rights in the French constitution.

As we move forward, it is crucial that we continue to push for change and support women’s rights, both locally and globally, to ensure a more equal and just world for all.

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