Women marched through streets in various cities across Europe, Africa, and beyond to celebrate International Women’s Day, calling for an end to unfair treatment and violence against them based on their gender.
In Istanbul, on the Asian side of Turkey’s largest city, a gathering in Kadiköy brought together members of many women’s organizations. They enjoyed speeches, danced, and sang under the warm spring sun.
The lively event, filled with bright colours, was watched closely by a heavy police force, including officers in riot gear and a truck equipped with a water cannon.
Turkey’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, named 2025 the Year of the Family. Demonstrators rejected the notion that women should only be wives and mothers, holding up signs that said “Family will not bind us to life” and “We will not be sacrificed to the family.”
Some people have criticized the government, saying it has limited women’s freedoms and failed to properly address attacks on women.
Back in 2021, the Turkish president pulled his nation out of a European agreement called the Istanbul Convention, which aims to shield women from violence at home.
According to Turkey’s “We Will Stop Femicides” group, 394 women were murdered by men in 2024.
“There is bullying at work, pressure from husbands and fathers at home and pressure from patriarchal society. We demand that the pressure be reduced even further,” Yaz Gulgun, 52, said.
Across several European nations, women also took action against violence, pushing for better healthcare tailored to their needs, fair wages, and equal opportunities compared to men.
In Poland, campaigners set up a facility opposite the parliament in Warsaw where women can access abortion pills, either by themselves or with others.
Launching the centre on International Women’s Day, right across from the government building, was a bold statement against the leaders of the largely Roman Catholic country, known for having some of Europe’s toughest abortion rules.
From Athens to Madrid, Paris, Munich, Zurich, and Belgrade, plus many other cities on the continent, females walked together to insist on being treated as equals in society, government, homes, and jobs.
In Madrid, marchers displayed large, hand-made drawings of Gisèle Pelicot, a French woman drugged by her former husband for ten years so she could be assaulted by numerous men while unconscious. Pelicot now stands as an emblem for women across Europe battling sexual violence.
In Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, thousands of females filled the Mobolaji Johnson stadium, dancing, singing, and honouring their identity as women. Many wore purple, the classic colour tied to the women’s freedom movement.
In Russia, the women’s day events felt more formal, with soldiers from an honour guard handing out yellow tulips to girls and women during a ceremony in St Petersburg.
In Berlin, Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, urged greater action to ensure fairness and cautioned against efforts to undo the advancements already achieved.
