Photos: Women’s Day protesters demand gender equality

Demonstrations, conferences and artistic events around the world have marked International Women’s Dayan annual celebration established to recognize women and demand equality for half of the planet’s population.

While activists in some parts of the world noted progress, the crackdown in countries like Afghanistan and Iran, and the sheer number of women and girls experiencing sexual assault and domestic violence around the world, highlighted the ongoing fight to secure the rights of women.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said this week that women’s rights have been “abused, threatened and violated” around the world and that gender equality will not be achieved for 300 years, given the pace current exchange.

The progress made over decades is fading because “the patriarchy is fighting back,” Guterres said.

Even in countries that have pioneered advances for women, there have been recent setbacks for the feminist cause: This is the first International Women’s Day since the United States Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion last year and many states adopted abortion restrictions.

The UN recognized International Women’s Day in 1977, but the occasion has its roots in the labor movements of the early 20th century. The day is commemorated in different ways and to varying degrees in different countries.