International Women’s Day: For All Women

Rain Zeng’26, Op/Ed Editor

March 8 is such an important day for women in other countries — and I’ve always wondered why it isn’t for Americans. My parents and relatives celebrate International Women’s Day through gifts, and women even get a half-day off work every year in China. As a child of immigrants, I know that there are many aspects of American culture that differ from that of other countries; holidays and traditions celebrated elsewhere may not be a commonplace observance here.

The first “Woman’s Day” was organized by the Socialist Party of America in 1909 to honor a strike of female textile workers in New York City. Despite these origins, International Women’s Day is not an official holiday in the U.S. We celebrate Women’s History Month in March with art exhibitions, movie nights, and discussions about women who made history. The protests, marches, panel discussions, and strikes that characterize International Women’s Day in other places are notably absent in the U.S. — though such issues as the wage gap, femicide, domestic violence, and reproductive rights are deeply relevant to Americans as well.

Now more than ever — especially when President Trump’s second term threatens to further weaken reproductive healthcare access — it is vital for American women (and men!) to speak up on these issues. Restrictions on reproductive healthcare already exist and affect women across the country: 12 states have complete abortion bans, nine of them without rape or incest exceptions, and 29 states have banned abortion past certain gestational limits. This has resulted in women, sometimes girls, being forced to carry to term. Abortion bans also endanger women with high-risk pregnancies who require abortion as a life-saving measure. Since his inauguration, Trump has rescinded multiple executive orders protecting reproductive healthcare in the U.S., and a federal abortion ban has been introduced in the House. In the next four years, we can anticipate continued attacks on women’s autonomy.

Back in January of 2017, people worldwide participated in the Women’s March, a protest in direct response to Trump’s first inauguration. At the time, the Women’s March on Washington was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. The global demonstration sparked conversations and wider movements of resistance against Trump’s policies. In 2025, a Women’s March of the same scale feels even more necessary. Unquestionably, people in the U.S. and beyond have been and still are protesting for women’s rights, but these movements are nowhere near as loud. I can’t help but wonder: Would observing International Women’s Day the same way other countries do make large-scale protests easier to organize? A single day dedicated to advocating for women’s rights now, in the present, would encourage people to congregate and, hopefully, create real change. At a time like this, we should be doing everything we can to make our voices heard.

Moreover, international solidarity can be uniquely powerful. The United Nations’ 2025 theme for International Women’s Day is “For all women and girls.” According to the U.N. website, “This year’s theme calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind. Central to this vision is empowering the next generation — youth, particularly young women and adolescent girls—as catalysts for lasting change.” The phrase “all women” includes American women, too.

This is not to say that Women’s History Month activities are unimportant. Women’s history is undoubtedly crucial to understand: We should recognize the historical fight for women’s rights and the untold narratives of women who made the world what it is today. And as members of an academic community, we are more than well-equipped to learn.

Nevertheless, as the hopeful youths who will be the women and allies of tomorrow, we should look towards the future as well. If there’s anything that history has taught us, it’s that lasting change comes from solidarity and organized action against injustice. There’s no reason why we can’t both recognize the history of women and also participate in the global movement for women’s liberation. In should go hand in hand.

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International Women’s Day: For All Women