Active citizens, Armed conflicts, Civil society, Crime and justice, Education, Featured, Gender, Gender identity, Gender violence, Global, Headlines, Health, Human rights, TerraViva United Nations
Anne Hathaway, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, addresses the United Nations celebration of International Women’s Day 2026 on the theme: “Rights, justice, action for ALL women and girls.” Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider
– On International Women’s Day (March 8), global leaders and advocates rally around the rallying cry to strengthen justice systems for all women and girls at a time of growing rejections of gender equality.
The United Nations held its annual celebration of International Women’s Day on March 9, commemorating the day and the start of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which will be held from March 9 to 19. This year’s theme is “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls.” Stakeholders will participate in meetings and side events over the next two weeks to deliberate on the issue of justice for women and girls in multiple and complex contexts.
All speakers at the commemorative event, held in the General Assembly Hall, called for greater investments to strengthen justice systems and ensure accountability. No country has achieved true gender parity and recent years have seen a decline in the rights of women and girls.
Justice is the “non-negotiable foundation of rights,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. While women’s rights face an “always virulent and adaptive” setback that continues to threaten their place in society. “Frontly, we are not going backwards, we are redoubling our efforts, we are going higher.”
“Today’s conversation is about closing the gap between the rights women are promised and the justice they actually experience, said WABC-TV news anchor Sade Baderinwa. “For the first time in a long time, many young women are wondering if the progress they were promised is real… Women around the world are asking the same question: “Are we still moving forward?” And the answers will depend on the decisions we make at this moment. Progress does not advance on its own. It moves because people insist that it should.”
Women’s contributions have been shown to advance economies and peaceful agendas. Annalena Baerbock, President of the UN General Assembly, reminded the room that in the context of the United Nations, women’s rights are “embedded in this institution from the beginning,” as seen with the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which included key contributions from delegates from India, Pakistan and the Dominican Republic.
When it comes to legal protections, women have only 64 percent of the legal rights compared to men. According to UN Women, this leaves them vulnerable to discrimination, violence and exclusion. The rights of women and girls are not equally enforced around the world. Systemic inequalities further complicate this for women and girls and prevent them from seeking justice, such as lack of access to these systems, social discrimination or fear of retaliation.
“Despite widespread recognition of women’s rights, (…) access to justice remains deeply unequal. Around the world, women and girls still possess only a fraction of the legal rights afforded to men. Discriminatory laws and practices continue to fail the women they are meant to serve,” said Earle Courtenay Rattray, Chief of Staff to the UN Secretary-General.
“It is difficult to bear the knowledge that the distance between the promise of equality and its experience remains so great for many people,” said Anne Hathaway. The award-winning actress and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador highlighted the continued efforts of generations of activists and survivors to advocate for equality in the face of injustice.
“Are we not tormented by the fact that social progress for all women has been, in large part, a response to extreme gender violence? Are we not tormented by what women like Gisèle Pelicot, Virginia Giuffre and Malala Yousafzai, to name three around the world, have had to endure? These women and girls had the courage to demand justice when horrific violence was inflicted on them, and in doing so, by honoring their own right to dignity, they changed the world. Are we not tormented by this cost of change?
Nobel laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai delivers speeches at the United Nations celebration of International Women’s Day in 2026. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS
In the face of such systemic injustices, the work and resilience of women and girls must be encouraged and celebrated, Hathaway said.
“Our choice to celebrate today does not indicate that we are here to make room for injustice. Our celebration today affirms our determination to survive.”
Justice has become even more complicated in the current era, where modern technology can be used to improve access but is also used as a weapon to cause harm and discrimination. In times of conflict, where women and children are often the most vulnerable, their rights are threatened even when international law requires their protection. There is increasing impunity within systems of inequality that allow violations of rights.
“I have never seen so many children suffering from war and violence. Hurting and dying at the hands of irresponsible leaders,” said Malala Yousafzai, education activist and Nobel laureate. He referenced recent events in the Middle East, where missile strikes hit schools in Iran and killed more than 150 children.
Afghan musician and singer Sunbul Reha (on podium) addresses the United Nations celebration of International Women’s Day 2026. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS
“True justice does not uphold the humanity of children in one place and then ignore it in another. It is not applied selectively… We must ask ourselves why justice is a privilege that is extended to some and denied to others.”
Afghanistan is an example of the consequences of rolling back hard-fought rights and legal protections. Since the Taliban took control in 2021, women and girls have seen a steady rollback of their rights and have been forced to stop participating in public life. Yousafzai called on leaders to “move from sympathy to accountability” in addressing this current crisis. Afghan women and girls are asking for legal recognition so that “the long work of justice” can begin, she said.
“I know what it means to have a girl’s work silenced. I’ve lived it,” said Sunbul Reha, an Afghan singer and musician. “Rights that took generations to win are evaporating before our eyes. And yet, I remain hopeful. Because girls like me are still learning… Women continue to defend their rights, and young people around the world refuse to give up the fight.”
Reha urged delegates in the room to fight to “block the erosion” of the rights of women and girls. “There are millions of girls who are with me in spirit. They count on all of us and they count on you.”
IPS UN Office Report
$images_for_story = ips_images_for_story(); echo $images_for_story; // story photos to display in sidebar ?>
