International Women's Day - 8 March
Sunday 8 March is United Nations International Women's Day, although in many countries, including Spain, events continue to take place long after the day itself.
[The Guardian]
Dia de la mujer was officially inaugurated in 1911, when over one million people took part. The UN did not get involved until as late as 1977.
The theme for this year, 2026, is "Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls".
Gloria Steinem, the renowned feminist, once said: "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
Ms Steinem, a former CIA operative, pulled off many stunts to get her point across, including a stint as a Playboy bunny.
She is the mother of Christian Bale the film actor.
[RTVE.es]
Women's Rights in Spain
In a country like Spain, which has a dreadful record of pay inequality and violence against women, mainly by partners or ex-partners, politicians pay lip service to the day and its objectives.
According to Jennie Rhodes, writing in SUR in English last Thursday, the pay gap between women and men in Spain stands at 25.9 per cent, just 0.4 per cent lower than in 2025.
[SUR in English]
Ms Rhodes reminds readers that a chilling headline at the end of 2025 read that "Malaga was the Spanish province with the highest number of women killed by gender violence that year" in the whole of Spain.She goes on: "so far this year in Spain there have been nine women killed, three of which have been in Andalucia."
A hot topic is also the issue of whether Muslim women should be banned from wearing the burka or niqab in public spaces. France has already legislated; Spain is considering a ban.
The problem is that this simply means "fewer women leaving their houses and engaging in society", according to Cristina Vallejo writing in Diario SUR. She was referring to a report published by Cambridge University Press.
[elDiario.es]
Footnote
There was wall-to-wall coverage of the Dia Internacional de las Mujeres on Spanish TV on Sunday morning. In the programme "Plano General", Miriam Gonzalez, wife of former LibDem leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, was interviewed by Jenaro Castro about her work on behalf of women and girls. A lawyer, Ms Gonzalez spoke about how youth is the future for gender equality and also about her projects "Inspiring Women" and "Inspiring Girls".
[RTVE.es]
Later on Sunday morning, the weekly magazine programme on agriculture "Agrosfera" focused solely on women in honour of this important day. From "percebeiras" in Galicia, wine-makers in La Rioja, honey production, fisherwomen in Gandia on the Costa Blanca and citrus cultivation in Sevilla, the programme showed that women are as capable as men and are making an important contribution to these local economies.
Percebeiras [La Voz de Galicia]
Sunday's editions of Malaga Hoy and SUR also carried extensive coverage of El Dia de la Mujer, featuring women who have "made it in a man's world".
Sources
Diario SUR, internationalwomensday.com, Malaga Hoy, SUR, SUR in English, TVE1, unwomen.org, Wikipedia
Links
Agrosfera - 07/03/26International Women's Day – Saturday 8 March 2025
Plano general - Miriam González
© The History Man
Pictures:
elDiario.es, La Voz de Galicia, RTVE.es, SUR in English, The Guardian
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