IN PICTURES - International Women's Day: tributes and demonstrations all over the world

Europe 1 with AFP 7:35 p.m., March 8, 2023

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, not to mention the wars: the reasons for mobilization are numerous for the women who demonstrate on Wednesday for their rights violated in the world.

Ukrainian Head of State Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to women "who work, teach, study, save, treat and fight for Ukraine" and those "who have sacrificed their lives" since the start of the invasion Russian a year ago.

His Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin celebrated women who "fulfill their duty", especially military.

Women remain the first victims of wars and are underrepresented in diplomatic negotiations, officials denounced Tuesday before the UN Security Council.

On this day, a multitude of gatherings take place in the major cities of the world, including Madrid, usually the scene of a gigantic purple tide. 

In Madrid, the demonstrators answered present this Wednesday. 

A strong mobilization in Pakistan

In Pakistan, a very conservative and patriarchal country, they took to the streets by the thousands despite attempts by the authorities of several large cities to block these marches, sources of strong tension in the past.

"We are no longer going to sit in silence. This is our day, this is our time," said Rabail Akhtar, a teacher in Lahore.

Like 2,000 others, she came despite the ban from the authorities, who said they feared provocations from demonstrators discussing often taboo subjects such as divorce, sexual harassment or menstruation.

Women are mobilizing in Lahore, Pakistan to assert their rights.

Globally, "gender equality is moving further and further away" and "at the current pace, (the organization) UN Women sets it at 300 years from now," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday. taking the example of Afghanistan where "women and girls have been erased from public life".

"Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world with regard to women's rights", denounced Rosa Otunbaïeva, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Manua).

Universities reopened there on Monday after the long winter break, but for men only, with women no longer allowed to study since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.

Several gatherings in Europe

A symbolic and unprecedented step on the eve of March 8, the European Union adopted sanctions on Tuesday 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.

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In London, the Madame Tussauds museum marks this 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 planned for Wednesday in several countries such as Spain, Barcelona or Germany, Berlin.

In Berlin, International Women's Day is an opportunity for these activists to work for the visibility of women artists. 

A student demonstration in Barcelona this Wednesday on the occasion of International Women's Rights Day. 

The protest is notably placed under the sign of the fight against the pension reform, accused of being unfair to women.

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. 

Protests "against male violence and precarious work" in Mexico

In Mexico, it is with 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 were 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.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and First Lady Jill Biden will present the "Bright Future" Contribution Award to Washington to "eleven extraordinary women from around the world".

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Feminists will also mobilize in particular to defend the right to abortion, called into question in particular in the United States by the decision of the Supreme Court to revoke in June the "Roe v. Wade" judgment of 1973 guaranteeing this right. .

In Europe, this right has also been weakened recently in Hungary and Poland.

"We are fighting against (...) a patriarchy (...) which fights relentlessly against our rights, such as abortion, which we have obtained by fighting", says the manifesto of the Madrid march, which will start at 6 p.m.