Sunday 8 March is United Nations International Women's Day, although in many countries events continue to take place long after the day itself.
[The Guardian]
Dia de la mujer was officially inaugurated in 1911, when over one million people took part.
The UN did not get involved until as late as 1977.
The theme for this year, 2026, is "Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls".
A contemporary German poster
Gloria Steinem, the renowned feminist, once said: "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
Ms Steinem, a former CIA operative, pulled off many stunts to get her point across, including a stint as a Playboy bunny.
She is the mother of Christian Bale the film actor.
[RTVE.es]
Spain
In a country like Spain, which has a dreadful record of pay inequality and violence against women, mainly by partners or ex-partners, politicians pay lip service to the day and its objectives.
According to Jennie Rhodes, writing in SUR in English last Thursday, the pay gap between women and men in Spain stands at 25.9 per cent, just 0.4 per cent lower than in 2025.
Ms Rhodes reminds readers that a chilling headline at the end of 2025 read that "Malaga was the Spanish province with the highest number of women killed by gender violence that year" in the whole of Spain.
She goes on: "so far this year in Spain there have been nine women killed, three of which have been in Andalucia."
[SUR in English]
A hot topic is also the issue of whether Muslim women should be banned from wearing the burka or niqab in public spaces. France has already legislated; Spain is considering a ban.
The problem is that this simply means "fewer women leaving their houses and engaging in society", according to Cristina Vallejo writing in Diario SUR. She was referring to a report published by Cambridge University Press.
[elDiario.es]
Sources
Diario SUR, internationalwomensday.com, SUR in English, unwomen.org, Wikipedia
Link
International Women's Day – Saturday 8 March 2025
© The History Man
Pictures:
elDiario.es, RTVE.es, SUR in English, The Guardian
Tags:
burka, Christian Bale, Cristina Vallejo, Dia de la Mujer, Diario SUR, elDiario.es, France, Gloria Steinem, International Women's Day, internationalwomensday.com, Jennie Rhodes, niqab, Paul Whitelock, RTVE.es, Spain, SUR in English, The Guardian, UN, United Nations, unwomen.org, Wikipedia