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International Women's Day is a celebration and a call to action. Here are things to know.

The celebration is often also marked with demonstrations focused on improving women's rights as workers.
A hand holds up a poster of a woman raising a fist
A woman holds up a placard during a protest marking International Women's Day, in Istanbul on Sunday.Khalil Hamra / AP
/ Source: The Associated Press
By The Associated Press
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Women across the world will call for equal pay, reproductive rights, education, justice and decision-making jobs and celebrate progress toward female empowerment during events and demonstrations marking International Women’s Day on Sunday.

Officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day is commemorated in different ways and to varying degrees in places around the world. Protests are often political — and at times violent — rooted in women’s efforts to improve their rights as workers.

2026 will mark the 115th year of International Women’s Day. This years’ theme is “Give to Gain,” with a focus on fundraising for organizations focused on women’s issues and less tangible forms of giving such as teaching peers, celebrating women and “challenging discrimination.” Women worldwide hold 64% of the legal rights that men have, according to United Nations data.

Women’s rights activists on Sunday rallied in Karachi, Pakistan and shouted slogans during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey. In China and Russia, vendors sold flowers wrapped in pink and local workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, lifted fists and umbrellas as they celebrated.

A woman raises her hands and smiles during a rally
Women's right activists take part in a rally to mark International Women's Day in Karachi, Pakistan, on Sunday.Ali Raza / AP

What is International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day is a global celebration — and a call to action — marked by demonstrations, mostly of women, around the world, ranging from combative protests to charity runs. Some celebrate the economic, social and political achievements of women, while others urge governments to guarantee equal pay, access to health care, justice for victims of gender-based violence and education for girls.

It is an official holiday in more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ukraine, Russia and Cuba, the only one in the Americas. In the United States, March is celebrated as Women’s History Month.

As in other aspects of life, social media plays an important role during International Women’s Day, particularly by amplifying attention to demonstrations held in countries with repressive governments toward women and dissent in general.

When did it start and why does it fall on March 8?

While the idea behind a women’s day originated in the U.S. with the American Socialist Party in 1909, it was a German feminist who pushed for a global commemoration during an international conference of socialist women held in 1910 in Copenhagen. The following year, events across Europe marked the day, and during World War I, women used it to protest the armed conflict, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.

International Women’s Day is observed on March 8 after a massive protest in Russia on Feb. 23, 1917, that led to the country’s eventual withdrawal from the war. At the time, Russia had not adopted the Gregorian calendar and still used the Julian calendar.

The U.N. began commemorating the holiday in 1975, which was International Women’s Year, and its General Assembly officially recognized the day two years later.

How is it observed across the world?

Roughly 20,000 people attended a march for International Women’s Day in Berlin. German news agency dpa reported Sunday that the crowd was double the amount police had expected. Speakers at the event decried violence against women in Germany, as well as gender discrimination.

In Brazil, Sunday’s marches for International Women’s Day served as a rallying cry against gender-based violence, fueled by the latest case to outrage the country involving the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Copacabana.

Women march while holding sunflowers outside
Women march on International Women's Day on Copacabana beach,in Rio de Janeiro.Silvia Izquierdo / AP

The case in Rio de Janeiro’s famed, beachside neighborhood took place in January but gained national traction this week when four suspects handed themselves over to authorities.

At least 15 protests were planned across the country, with organizers calling for the defense of women’s lives and an end to femicide.

Globally, a woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by a family member or partner, according to U.N. figures, and the number of women being exposed to conflict has significantly jumped over the past decade.

What does the future hold for March 8?

Some say commemorating International Women’s Day is now more important than ever, as women have lost gains made in the last century, among them the 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a nationwide right to abortion, which ended constitutional protections that had been in place nearly 50 years.

The U.S. decision on abortion has reverberated across Europe’s political landscape, forcing the issue back into public debate in some countries at a time when far-right nationalist parties are gaining influence.