Every year on this date, the world celebrates International Women’s Day, established by the United Nations in 1977. This day provides an important opportunity to highlight the situation of women worldwide and to remind everyone of the need to strengthen laws that protect their rights, as well as to ensure their protection from all forms of violence.
This year, International Women’s Day is celebrated under the slogan “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL women and girls”, with a call "for action to dismantle all barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls."
It is true that women, like men, suffer in different parts of the world — and particularly in Arab countries — from human rights violations that directly affect them or their family members, such as arbitrary arrests, torture, and sexual violence, especially in the context of armed conflicts. However, their role is not limited to that of a “victim”: they are also actively engaged in the struggle to protect and promote human rights, despite the risks they face from repressive regimes.
As examples, it is worth mentioning several cases followed by Alkarama in recent months concerning women who have faced repression due to their positions in favor of human rights.
▪ Ms. Khouloud Mokhtari, a Moroccan screenwriter and human rights activist, was targeted with reprisals because of her public engagement and active support for her husband, journalist Soulaimane Raissouni, who was subjected to arbitrary detention.
▪ Ms. Nawal Kara Bouslama, a Franco-Algerian businesswoman, was the victim of serious and repeated violations of her fundamental rights in Algeria because of her refusal to participate in state-level corruption practices.
▪ Ms. Saida El Alami, a Moroccan blogger and human rights activist, is known for her consistent defense of fundamental freedoms. Active on social media, she regularly denounces human rights violations and comments on political and social developments in Morocco.
▪ Ms. Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, was subjected to unfair sanctions announced by the United States government in response to her report, which courageously and responsibly highlighted the systematic crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, as well as the complicity of major Western companies that benefit directly from the ongoing war of extermination.
Thus, women are not only victims of human rights violations; they are also active defenders of these rights within their societies and on the international stage. Alongside the many women facing discrimination, violence, and exclusion, numerous women stand on the frontlines defending human dignity, equality, and justice. It is everyone’s duty to stand with them and support them.