International Women's Day 2025

7/3/2025

‘Hope is a radical act.’ (Jaha Dukureh)

2025. It seems inconceivable that equality for women and girls should still be an issue. I mean, surely it’s self-evident that all people are equal and ought to be regarded and treated as such – except, apparently, to those who for whatever reason continue to resist that belief and stance. We are even witnessing a backlash against women’s rights across the world, especially by those who consider equality as something that threatens their own interests. Hope is a radical act.

Against this backdrop, the theme of this year’s event, Accelerate Action, is courageous in its ethic and ambition. Any advance in the current climate could feel like hard work, like swimming against a tide that’s dragging much of humanity backwards in a different direction. Whist blatant social and political oppression of women and girls hits the headlines in places like Afghanistan and Iran, violence, discrimination and exclusion are on the rise in many other arenas too.

So, what can we do to support the cause? International Women’s Day and UN Women provide lists of practical ideas and actions at personal-relational to national-international levels. We can also show appreciation, respect and recognition to the women and girls around us in our own day-to-day lives; at home, at work, in friendships and in communities – to see those who feel unseen; to support those caught up in the struggle; and, where possible, to be agents of hope.

#AccelerateAction

24 Comments

Lina Torres

7/3/2025 06:39:12 pm

Hello Nick. I just want to take a moment to say thank you for writing this. It’s not easy to put into words the frustration, fear and exhaustion that so many women feel, but you’ve captured it with clarity and compassion. I feel deeply for the women who are losing rights, for the girls whose dreams are being stolen and for every person who is fighting just to be seen as equal. But your words remind me that even in the darkest times, hope is a form of resistance. This blog is a gift because it doesn’t just highlight the problem, it reminds us that action is possible. Thank you for using your voice to inspire.

Nick Wright

8/3/2025 09:56:32 am

Hi Lina. Thank you for your encouraging feedback. I can only imagine the 'frustration, fear and exhaustion'. And yes - hope is a form of resistance.

Sophia Reynolds

7/3/2025 06:40:58 pm

Nick, thank you for writing this powerful and necessary piece.

It’s disheartening to think that in 2025, we’re still fighting for rights that should be unquestionable. Yet, as you point out, the resistance to equality is not just lingering, it’s growing in some places. I feel deeply for the women and girls who are facing oppression, whether it’s blatant and violent or subtle and systemic. The call to Accelerate Action is a reminder that we can’t afford to be complacent. I appreciate this blog for its urgency and for encouraging us to be active participants in change.

Hope is radical but hope is also shared. Thank you for keeping the fire burning.

8/3/2025 09:58:38 am

Hi Sophia. Thank you for your encouraging feedback too. 'Hope is radical but hope is also shared'. I think that's so important. We can't persist and make headway in these kinds of struggles if we try to do it all alone.

Aisha Bello

7/3/2025 06:42:39 pm

Yes, hope is radical but it’s also powerful. Women have always been at the forefront of change, even when history tried to erase them. From the young girls in Kenya fighting for their right to education to the women in Poland marching for reproductive rights, to the grassroots activists supporting survivors of gender-based violence. Progress is happening. We are happening.

So let’s accelerate action, but let’s also celebrate resilience. Because no matter how many setbacks come, we women will never stop pushing forward!

8/3/2025 10:11:26 am

Hi Aisha. Yes indeed. I can think of so many women who are making a difference, ranging from famous figures like Malala Yousafzai, through to local groups like Red Brigade Lucknow in India, through to remarkable grass roots activists like Jasmin in the Philippines (https://www.nick-wright.com/blog/smoke).

Miriam Ahmed

7/3/2025 06:51:40 pm

Hi Nick. I grew up in a conservative household where my mother whispered her dreams to me at night: dreams she was never allowed to chase. "One day," she said, "you’ll have choices I never did." But in 2025, I see the world shifting backward. I see girls in Iran forced to cover their hair, while girls in France are forced to uncover it. I see survivors of domestic violence struggling to find justice. I see brilliant women hitting glass ceilings and earning less than their male counterparts.

Hope feels fragile. But I hold onto it because my mother did. Because the women before me did. And because I refuse to let my daughter whisper her dreams in the dark. I choose hope. I choose action. I choose to believe in a world where equality is not debated, but demanded.

Thank you for posting this.

8/3/2025 10:13:50 am

Thank you, Miriam. Thank you for sharing so deeply from personal experience. 'Hope feels fragile. But I hold onto it because my mother did. Because the women before me did. And because I refuse to let my daughter whisper her dreams in the dark.' That really moved me... Thank you for choosing hope.

Rachel O'Connor

7/3/2025 07:36:16 pm

2025. A time when half the planet’s population is told to 'wait their turn' for equal rights, while men in power redefine 'equality' to suit themselves. I love the theme Accelerate Action, but honestly? Women have been accelerating for centuries. We’ve been running marathons while society moves the finish line. Maybe it’s time for those with power to do the running for once. Nice post by the way.

8/3/2025 10:14:39 am

Thanks Rachel. And great metaphor!

Zahra Hussain

7/3/2025 08:23:23 pm

Thanks Nick. Your blog highlights something crucial: resistance to women's rights is not accidental. It’s political. It’s economic. It’s strategic. Why? Because empowered women challenge systems of control. They demand fair wages. They expose corruption. They dismantle power structures built on inequality. That’s why, from reproductive rights rollbacks in the U.S. to the erasure of women’s education in Afghanistan, we see coordinated efforts to suppress progress. Hope is radical, but organizing is revolutionary. We need policies that protect women. We need feminist leadership. And we need to recognize that every attack on women's rights is an attack on democracy itself.

8/3/2025 10:17:18 am

Thank you, Zahra. 'Because empowered women challenge systems of control.' That certainly seems to be one of the core reasons for the growing 'backlash' against women's rights. 'Every attack on women's rights is an attack on democracy itself.' That's an important point too. Thank you for sharing it.

Elena Moreau

7/3/2025 08:25:33 pm

I think about the women and girls in my own community, those balancing careers and caregiving, those fighting for safety in their own homes, those breaking barriers in male-dominated fields. Their resilience is hope in action.

8/3/2025 10:18:01 am

Hi Elena. Yes - that is so true - and so important to recognise.

Nia Thompson

7/3/2025 08:28:50 pm

Hey Nick. Hope is a radical act but action is a necessity. Women in Afghanistan are banned from education. Women in the U.S. are losing control over their bodies. Women in Sudan are fleeing violence. In every country, women face threats from laws, from systems, from men. Hope without action is complacency. We don’t need to just "accelerate" action; we need to demand it. Speak out. Vote. Donate. Disrupt. Be relentless. The backlash against women’s rights isn’t subtle, it’s a war. And we must fight back. Thanks for including the IDW and UNW links in your blog.

8/3/2025 10:19:03 am

Thank you, Nia - you're welcome. 'Speak out. Vote. Donate. Disrupt. Be relentless.' I like that.

Priya Menon

7/3/2025 08:33:39 pm

Reading this, Nick, I think about India: my home where contradictions define women’s lives. We have women leading in politics, business and science yet also facing rampant gender-based violence, dowry deaths and deep-rooted patriarchy. Last year, a woman in my neighbourhood was forced to quit her job after marriage. "It’s tradition," her in-laws said. Another woman was harassed on her way home, but the police told her not to be out so late. Meanwhile, Dalit women continue to be disproportionately targeted by sexual violence, their cases often ignored. Hope is radical here because it means believing change is possible despite centuries of oppression. But hope alone won’t fix things. Action will. It starts with education, legal reform and shifting cultural mindsets. It starts with us.

8/3/2025 10:22:00 am

Hi Priya and thank you for sharing such tangible and personal examples from India, including how various forms of oppression are rationalised individually and culturally - a phenomenon that happens elsewhere too. 'Hope is radical here because it means believing change is possible despite centuries of oppression.' I can only imagine.

Amara Patel

7/3/2025 08:57:02 pm

Thank you so much, Nick. I appreciate how this piece acknowledges the emotional and physical toll of this struggle.

As women, we are expected to fight every day to prove our worth, to claim spaces we should already belong in and to demand respect when it should be freely given. And yet, as Jaha Dukureh reminds us in your blog, hope is a radical act.
I hold space in my heart for the women who are exhausted, who feel unseen and who are afraid to hope because they’ve been let down too many times. But I also believe in the power of collective action. Even when progress feels slow and even when it feels like we are swimming against the tide, our efforts matter.

8/3/2025 10:24:53 am

Hi Amara. 'I hold space in my heart for the women who are exhausted, who feel unseen and who are afraid to hope because they’ve been let down too many times.' That's very deep. 'I believe in the power of collective action' and 'our efforts matter'. That is a great source and expression of hope.

Sara Chambers

7/3/2025 08:58:49 pm

I didn't realise it's international women's day until I saw your blog Nick.

8/3/2025 10:26:24 am

Hi Sara. Yes, it doesn't often get the media attention it deserves - and that itself is an important question to consider: 'Why not?'

Jaz

8/3/2025 10:31:02 am

Salute and prayerful gratitude to you Coach Nick for being part of the celebration of the Women's Month in PH. By sharing your resources to make a gigantic difference in the lives of the teachers who keep working hard to impart knowledge to their students with minimum wage.
In behalf of the students they highly appreciate the seminars about women's various rights ,such as: Magna Carta for Women,Solo Parent Act and Violence Against Women and their Children. Wonderfully done thru your practical support! GOD blessings to YOU.

8/3/2025 10:32:11 am

Hi Jaz. Salute and prayerful gratitude to you too. This blog was inspired by your amazing work among teachers and students in the Philippines on this important theme. I was inspired by the angles you chose and shared with me to address this critical and complex issue. Thank you and God bless you too - and keep up the great work!