ALBAWABA - On International Women's Day, the world celebrated France's historic decision to approve the controversial abortion law, while women in Gaza are undergoing cesarean surgeries without anesthesia.
Today, March 8, countries mark International Women's Day with aims to achieve gender equality after ages of injustice, however, this year feminists worldwide decided to launch a strike during this occasion.
Activists have refused to celebrate International Women's Day this year amid horrific circumstances females are going through in various places of the world, especially in Gaza and Sudan; amid wars, as well as Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran.
International Women's Day: The situation in Gaza
Women in Gaza are currently facing the hardest and the worst life circumstances, besides the lack of access to food and clean water, many pregnant women in Gaza face the possibility of undergoing cesarean surgeries without anesthesia amid the shortage of medical equipment.
Other females are unable to get access to basic women's needs, for instance, Gazans struggle to find menstrual pads, so they are forced to replace them with towels or even the corners of their tents.
Activists launched the hashtags "#feminist_strike_for_gaza and #no_feminist_struggle_without_gaza" as a way to show solidarity with women in Gaza after at least 30,878 people have been killed, mostly women and children, by Israeli attacks since Oct. 7.
Nonetheless, Palestinian women detainees are also subjected to widespread sexual assault and beating by Israeli forces, according to a UN report.
International Women's Day: The situation in Sudan
Sudanese women are not super different than Palestinians, since April 15, 2023, Sudanese women fear going to the streets amid the increase of gang rape, reportedly carried out by the Rapid Support Forces members.
Reports revealed that dozens of females were subjected to rape in front of their families and husbands.
The UN human rights office detailed that dozens of people, including children, have been victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence in the ongoing conflict in Sudan, attacks which could be assimilated into war crimes.
International Women's Day: The situation in Iran
Iranian women have been forced to obey the country's strict dress code, which was the reason behind the latest protests in Tehran, sparked by the death of Isranian icon Mahsa Amini.
On Sept. 13, 2022, Amini was arrested over violating dress code by Iran's morality police, beaten, and landed in a coma, she passed away three days later, igniting international protests against the lack of women's rights in Iran.
More than 500 people, including 71 minors, were killed in Mahsa Amini protests, while hundreds were wounded and thousands arrested, rights groups said. During protests, women cut their hair and burnt hijabs as a way to protest the dress code imposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
International Women's Day: The situation in Afghanistan
In August 2021, women in Afghanistan witnessed a turning point in their lives, The Taliban regained power in Kabul as the US and NATO forces withdrew from the country after over 20 decades.
Afghan women since August 15, 2021, have been suffering almost zero access to basic rights like education and work, then it slowly enforced a strict dress code and impositions on women’s freedom of movement and access to public life.
The Taliban first promised to maintain and preserve women's rights in the country, however, less than a month later it announced closing girls' schools depriving dozens of thousands of females from education.
Not only in Gaza, Iran, Afghanistan, and Sudan, women in many countries are still facing struggles to achieve gender equality. Furthermore, women in other countries including the Middle East still exposed to sexual harassment, and circumcision in addition to femicide.
