The Unstoppable March Forward: A Call for Action on International Women's Day

Imagine a world where women are denied the fundamental rights to education, voting, property and autonomy. A world where safety, dignity, and independence are not guarantees, but daily battles. This world, though seemingly archaic, remains a harsh reality for too many women and girls.

We owe our progress to the countless women who fought tirelessly for justice and equality, who demanded a "room of their own." Their struggle culminated in the landmark 1995 Beijing Conference, where global leaders committed to a future where women's rights and empowerment were universal. Yet, thirty years later, we find ourselves at a critical juncture.

The paradox of our time is stark: while we celebrate unprecedented progress, the fight for women's rights has never been more pressing. Women have shattered barriers, girls are more educated, and legal protections have strengthened. However, these gains are under siege. A global backlash against women's rights is deepening discrimination, weakening legal protections, limiting reproductive rights, and shrinking funding for gender equality. Anxieties around demographic change, especially low birthrates and population decline, are being used to justify rolling back hard-won gains on gender equality and limiting reproductive rights.

In 2024, nearly a quarter of governments around the world reported a backlash against women’s rights. Violence against women remains alarmingly high, with 24 million women in Europe and Central Asia experiencing physical or sexual violence in the past year alone. Technology-facilitated violence has emerged as a growing threat, disproportionately affecting young women. In Ukraine, where war has reshaped every aspect of life, an estimated 2.4 million people – mostly women and girls – are in urgent need of gender-based violence prevention and response services.

Women's political representation has improved, with women now holding an average 32 per cent of parliamentary seats in Europe and Central Asia (up from 11 per cent in 1995). But the pace of progress is slowing, and in some countries, reversing. Gender-based violence, harmful social norms, and the unequal burden of unpaid care work continue to impede full participation and perpetuate poverty. This is felt especially by the most marginalized women, including those living in rural areas or with disabilities, those belonging to minority groups, and older women. In Ukraine, the war has exacerbated some pre-existing gender inequalities, leaving women facing heightened risks of violence and heavier domestic burdens, even though, at the same time, women have stepped up as humanitarian workers, civil society leaders, community mobilizers, and entrepreneurs—today, one in every two businesses in Ukraine is founded by a woman.

At the current pace, gender equality remains a distant dream. A girl born today will be 40 before women achieve parliamentary parity, 68 before child marriage is eradicated, and may never see the end of extreme poverty. We cannot accept this future.

We, as representatives of UN Women and UNFPA, two leading UN agencies tasked with promoting gender equality, urge action over apathy, resistance over surrender, and hope over despair. We are heirs to a legacy of struggle, but we are also the generation that can make gender equality a reality. Gender equality is not just about women and girls; it is the path forward for all of humanity.

On this International Women's Day, we call on everyone to stand up for rights, empowerment, and equality for all women and girls. Let history remember 2025 as the year we made our stand, the year we refused to let progress slip away, the year we made gender equality truly unstoppable. Let us march forward, together, as governments, civil society, private sector, and individuals, ensuring that the promise of Beijing becomes a reality for All women and girls.

Belen Sanz Luque is UN Women Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
Florence Bauer is UNFPA Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.