The world continues to witness active conflict in Ethiopia, Yemen, the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan and of course Russia’s vicious assault on Ukraine. However, as the International Crisis Group notes, war just tells one part of the story:  “Yemen’s conflict kills more people, mostly women and young children, due to starvation or preventable disease than violence, and millions of Ethiopians suffer acute food insecurity because of the country’s civil war.”

We know that women, 2SLGBTQ+ and women with intellectual and other disabilities bear the brunt of war, particular as targets of sexual violence. We also know that it is women on the ground who are leading the way by working informally or activating local grassroots organizations to respond quickly to the ongoing violence.

These are the women we celebrate today!

In Canada, IRIS is convening Local Safety & Inclusion Solidarity Networks made up of Indigenous, racialized, refugee women and/or women with intellectual, cognitive, and psychosocial disabilities to develop and implement holistic community-based solutions to address gender-based violence, housing precarity, health disparity and blocked access to justice.

These are the women we also celebrate today!

Please join with IRIS as we celebrate the power of the feminine relevant to all genders on International Women’s Day!