March 8 Marks Int’l Women’s Day Amid Deepening Crisis for Afghan Women

DID Press: International Women’s Day, observed annually on March 8, honors the social, cultural, political, and economic achievements of women worldwide. The day traces its origins to early 20th-century labor movements and women’s suffrage campaigns, first celebrated in the United States in 1909 and later spreading to Europe. After Russian women gained the right to vote in 1917, March 8 became an established date, eventually recognized globally with the support of the United Nations.

This year’s celebrations occur while Afghan women remain in a dire situation under Taliban rule, facing severe restrictions on their social, educational, and civil rights, and denied access to basic freedoms and opportunities that women elsewhere enjoy.