On this year’s International Women’s Day, the struggle for peace, equality, social justice and human rights continues. Today more than ever, we pull together with our members and progressive family to fight for these values. 

The war in Ukraine continues and its terrible consequences intensifies for each day. As millions of refugees are now fleeing the ongoing conflict it is evident how the impact is both indiscriminate and different at the same time.  War and conflict affect marginalized and vulnerable groups in societies the most, it acerbates pre-existing inequalities and injustices as it defines resilience and options available for each person. Women, female workers, racialised people, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, LGBTQI+ people, or people with disabilities, face this horrifying situation in different ways. It defines their safety at home, at work, when fleeing within their own country, and their possibilities to leave.  The humanitarian crises that we are witnessing is gendered, not just because mothers, partners and children are separated from their fathers and loved ones, but because the experience of war is different, the responsibilities are different, and the roles and risks are different. We need peace and de-escalation to save lives. We need to come together as civil society across this continent again to fight for peace in Europe. And we need a feminist approach to dialogue, peacebuilding and peacekeeping, in the efforts to cease the military invasion and for all the steps afterwards. Without peace there are no possibilities to advance the rights that we want and dream of, no chance of equality, nor freedom. Without peace there is no space to focus fully on the monumental challenges that lie ahead of us.

On International Women’s Day, we recognise women’s struggles, the interconnectedness with other struggles for justice and equality. We reiterate our commitment to work together for peace, democracy, freedom, sustainability, and social justice. We commit to fight for gender equality and against gender-based violence in all aspects of life and will stand up against the backlash for the rights of women, minorities, migrants, and LGBTQI+ persons as conservative, autocratic, nationalist, and racist right-wing movements gain strength and power across the world. As Putin represents the very epitome of this backlash.  On this important day for our movement, let’s continue to foster alliances between the protagonists of these related struggles, and call for peace and ceasefire, together with the thousands of women and men in both Ukraine and Russia who resists Putin’s unlawful and unjust aggression. 

“The misconception that a victory can be worth its price, has in the nuclear age become a total illusion.”

Alva Myrdal, Nobel Prize for Peace