Crowds gathered in the streets across Europe on Sunday to mark international women’s day with demands for ending inequality and gender-based violence.

Women protested against violence, for better access to gender-specific health care, equal pay and other issues in which they don’t get the same treatment as men.

Roughly 20,000 people attended a march for International Women’s Day in Berlin. German news agency dpa reported Sunday that the crowd was double the amount police had expected. Speakers at the event decried violence against women in Germany, as well as gender discrimination. In Barcelona, an attendance of over 22,000 was also recorded.

Officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day is commemorated in different ways and to varying degrees in places around the world. Protests are often political — and at times violent — rooted in women’s efforts to improve their rights as workers.

2026 will mark the 115th year of International Women’s Day. This years’ theme is “Give to Gain,” with a focus on fundraising for organisations focused on women’s issues and less tangible forms of giving such as teaching peers, celebrating women and “challenging discrimination.” Women worldwide hold 64% of the legal rights that men have, according to United Nations data.

International Women’s Day is a global celebration — and a call to action — marked by demonstrations, mostly of women, around the world, ranging from combative protests to charity runs. Some celebrate the economic, social and political achievements of women, while others urge governments to guarantee equal pay, access to health care, justice for victims of gender-based violence and education for girls.

It is an official holiday in more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ukraine, Russia and Cuba, the only one in the Americas. In the United States, March is celebrated as Women’s History Month.

Call to action in times of conflict

From Brussels to Madrid, many are also raising awareness this year for women’s rights issues in the context of a world increasingly afflicted by conflict.

Protesters expressed solidarity with women affected by war in Ukraine, Iran, Gaza and elsewhere. According to the United Nations, women in conflict-affected areas are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence.

Thousands of people came out in cities across Spain on Sunday to denounce violence against women and the war in the Middle East sparked by US-Israeli strikes.

Demonstrations took place in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Granada, Bilbao, and San Sebastian, among other cities.

“No to war” and “Anti-fascist feminists against imperialist war” were among the slogans written on signs at the protests.

Madrid also saw separate demonstrations for transgender rights and for the legalisation and regulation of prostitution.

“It is within our power to stop the war, to stop the barbarity, and to win rights. We proclaim ourselves in defence of peace, in defence of the Iranian people, in defence of Iranian women,” Yolanda Diaz, second vice president, told the press at the rally.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has drawn the ire of the US administration after he refused the use of Spain’s military bases for strikes against Iran, which he called an “extraordinary mistake” and “not in accordance with international law.”

US President Donald Trump lashed out at Sanchez’s government, threatening to sever all trade with the EU and NATO member, which he called “a loser.”