Taliban in power in Afghanistan, massive repression of the protest provoked in Iran by the death of Mahsa Amini, questioning of the right to abortion in the United States, consequences of the war in Ukraine on women... The reasons for mobilization are numerous.
For the occasion, a multitude of gatherings are planned for March 8 in major cities around the world, including Madrid, usually the scene of a gigantic purple tide.
Women "remain the first victims of wars and under-represented in diplomatic negotiations," officials denounced on Tuesday before the UN Security Council.
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The day before, the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres deplored that "equality between the sexes is moving further and further away" and that "at the current rate, UN Women sets it at 300 years from now", taking in particular the example of Afghanistan where “women and girls have been erased from public life”.
In this country, the universities also reopened on Monday after the long winter break, but only men were able to cross their threshold, women no longer being allowed to study since the return to power of the Taliban in August 2021.
In video, a Taliban announces that women are no longer allowed to play cricket
Around the world, girls' right to education is violated
Symbolic and unprecedented step on the eve of March 8, the European Union adopted sanctions against the Taliban Minister of Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem, "responsible for the widespread violation of women's right to education".
Other individuals or entities responsible for violations of women's rights in Iran, Russia, South Sudan, Burma or Syria have also been targeted by these sanctions.
In Iran, a phenomenon is taking a worrying turn: in the past three months, hundreds of middle school and high school girls have been poisoned.
And for the opposition movements, there is no doubt, the Iranian regime is behind this wave of intoxication, in order to put pressure on young girls, some of whom have recently challenged the Islamic Republic.
Indeed, since September 2022, young girls have been at the forefront of the revolt sparked by the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, after being manhandled by the morality police for a “poorly worn” veil
.
In France, the struggle of women against pension reform
In London, Madame Tussauds will mark the day by unveiling a new wax statue of the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst who, in 1903, founded the Women's Social and Political Union, to claim the right to vote for women.
In Europe, rallies are also planned in several countries such as France, where demonstrations to demand “equality at work and in life” are organized in around 150 cities.
A number significantly higher than in previous years according to the organizers.
The challenge will be placed in particular under the sign of the fight against the pension reform, accused of being unfair to women.
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Too bad for you
Prohibited demonstrations
Elsewhere in the world, demonstrations were on the other hand prohibited as in Lahore, in the east of Pakistan, conservative and patriarchal country, where the authorities justified their decision by the “signs and controversial banners” brandished by the demonstrators addressing subjects often taboo such as divorce, sexual harassment or menstruation.
In Cuba, for lack of being able to demonstrate freely, independent feminist organizations will for their part bypass the official celebrations by mobilizing via a “virtual demonstration” on social networks where they will raise awareness in particular on feminicides.
In Mexico, it is under the slogans "Not a single woman murdered" and "Against male violence and precarious work" that demonstrators will march in the main cities of the country, where 969 feminicides have been recorded in 2022, according to figures. officials.
In Colombia, rallies are planned to demand action against the increase in the number of feminicides, which rose from 182 in 2020 to 614 last year, according to data from the public ministry.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and First Lady Jill Biden will present the contribution “to a better future” award to “eleven extraordinary women from around the world”.
Protect the right to abortion
In the United States, feminists will mobilize in particular to defend the right to abortion, called into question by the Supreme Court's decision in June to revoke the “Roe v.
Wade” of 1973 guaranteeing this right.
This cancellation now gives the possibility to each State to legislate according to its own convictions on the voluntary interruption of pregnancy (IVG).
Since then, several states - the most conservative - have banned or restricted the use of abortion.
To the chagrin of feminists and women in the country.
In Europe, this right has also recently been weakened.
While Malta still prohibits abortion, Poland in 2021 made abortion almost illegal by removing the possibility of resorting to it in the event of malformation of the fetus.
The country now authorizes abortion in these cases only: rape or incest and endangering the life of the mother (a condition which acts as the only valid reason for terminating a pregnancy, in many countries of the Middle East, including Libya, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria).
For its part, Hungary has in turn restricted the right to abortion since women wishing to have an abortion have been forced since September to listen to the heartbeat of the fetus.
“We are fighting against (...) a patriarchy (...) which fights relentlessly against our rights, such as abortion,
Read alsoIn which countries in the world is abortion prohibited or threatened?
For fear that the situation will degenerate one day in France, deputies have preferred to take the lead.
For them, the only bulwark is to include the right to abortion in the 1958 Constitution. The battle is ongoing.
In video, "I myself had an abortion": MP Clémentine Autain testifies to her abortion
