Protesters rally on International Women’s Day, fearing far right

Protesters took to the streets across the world Saturday to mark International Women’s Day, demanding equal pay, political representation and an end to gender-based violence while voicing fears of rising repression.

In eastern Ukraine, scores of demonstrators held a minute’s silence to honour women killed defending the country from Russia’s invasion. Many carried banners bearing the faces of the deceased.

“Women are half of our society and we need to talk about what they do, what they are like, how they protect and what they do to make our country free and independent,” activist Iryna Lysykova told AFP in Kharkiv.

Many of the women marching in European capitals including Paris, Berlin and Madrid said they feared the growing strength of reactionary political forces, including a resurgent far right.

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“It is coming now and we’re taking backwards steps,” said Dori Martinez Monroy, 63, in the Spanish capital. “We have to reclaim what has already been won, because women are the first to be targeted.”

In Jakarta, one activist, Ajeng, accused the Indonesian government of budget cuts that were “making women lose their rights.

“Women are killed, impoverished, criminalised,” she said, as nearby protesters held up placards reading “This body belongs to me” and “Glory to the women of the working class”.

“Indonesian woman are fighting against the state for these reasons,” she said.

‘Not over’

Some demonstrators directed their ire at US President Donald Trump.

In Paris, women from the Femen activist group marched topless with either the US or the Russian flag, marked with a swastika, painted on their chests.

The Republican has been accused of sexual abuse by multiple women, and his administration has been blamed for pushing through policies hostile to women.

“This is a battle, it’s not over,” said 49-year-old Sabine, who was marching with her seven-year-old son in Paris, where organisers put turnout at around 250,000. Police gave a figure of 47,000.

“We’re going in the right direction: Trump, the masculinists, they make lots of noise but they’re not as strong as we are,” she told AFP.

In Argentina, thousands joined demonstrations across the country, with many criticising President Javier Milei for policies including shuttering the ministry responsible for addressing gender violence and inequality.

At the Berlin protest, some demonstrators held placards bearing messages including “Burn the patriarchy not the planet”.

One marcher, Steff Voigt, expressed her fears for the future.

“I find it quite frightening how certain developments are reversing, how women’s rights could simply be moving backward again, so to speak, because of the right. Especially in the USA,” she said.

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At the rally in Istanbul, Cigdem Ozdemir took aim at male violence against women and the Turkish authorities’ declaration of 2025 as “The Year of the Family”.

“Since 2025 was declared ‘The Year of The Family’, we as women have been confined to our homes,” the psychologist lamented, adding that LGBTQ people like her were “criminalised”.

“Today, we are here to make our struggle visible, to defend our lives against male violence, to defend our place in society and our rights.”

Iran’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi said women would overthrow the Islamic republic established after the 1979 revolution.

“Women have risen up against the Islamic republic in such a way that the regime no longer has the power to suppress them,” Mohammadi said in a video message where she was, as usual, not wearing the headscarf obligatory for all women in Iran.

Mohammadi, 52, who won the 2023 Nobel prize in recognition of her years-long fight for human rights in Iran, is on temporary release from prison for health reasons.

In Mexico, where the UN says an average of 10 women are murdered every day, thousands marched in the capital, Mexico City.

In Venezuela, around 150 protesters, most with their faces hidden for fear of reprisals from security forces, gathered in Caracas. Many called for the release of political prisoners held by the government of President Nicolas Maduro.