UN Women and Others Mark IWD 2026
UN Women and Other Organizations Mark IWD 2026
By Bose Eitokpah
On March 8, 2026 the UN Women, development partner institutions, and civil society organizations including FLED Group Africa commemorated the International Women’s Day (IWD). Globally and locally, women’s achievements are celebrated with call for progress in advancing gender equality and development. The United Nations theme for the year is: “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”.
A second theme for this year IWD is: “Give To Gain”. This theme is being promoted by a diverse coalition of global corporate and social organizations to encourage investment in women. Key organizations promoting this theme include Access Bank, World Vision and Chartwell Speakers.
This second theme emphasizes that empowering women leads to shared prosperity. “When women succeed in education, leadership, entrepreneurship, science, arts, and politics, entire communities grow stronger”. Whether through donations, knowledge, resources, infrastructure, visibility, advocacy, education, training, mentoring, or time, contributing to women’s advancement helps create a more supportive and interconnected world.
The Country Representative of UN Women to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Beatrice Eyong, said the theme, “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”, reflects a growing international concern that although women’s rights are widely recognized in law and policy, millions of women still struggle to experience those rights in their daily lives.
The UN said women and girls have never been closer to equality and never closer to losing it at it prepares for the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women coming from March 9 to 19 at the UN headquarters in New York.
Nigeria continues to face troubling disparities in women’s representation, safety and access to justice despite years of advocacy and policy commitments. Eyong disclosed that women currently occupy just 3.9 per cent of parliamentary seats, one of the lowest rates anywhere in the world.
Eyong said the theme reflects a growing international concern that although women’s rights are widely recognized in law and policy, millions of women still struggle to experience those rights in their daily lives.
According to her, Nigeria does not suffer from a shortage of gender policies but from weak implementation, insufficient financing and inconsistent enforcement.
“We must move from commitments to implementation and from plans to measurable impact,” she said.
She particularly raised the alarm over Nigeria’s extremely low level of female political representation, revealing that women currently occupy just 3.9 per cent of parliamentary seats, one of the lowest rates anywhere in the world.
The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap report showed that at the current pace, gender parity is still 123 years away. According to her, the imbalance not only undermines democratic inclusion but also weakens the country’s ability to make policies that reflect the needs of half of its population. “When women are missing from decision-making tables, the consequences are visible in the policies we adopt, the priorities we fund, and the voices that remain unheard.”
“Rights mean little without justice,” she said. “Justice must be experienced in women’s safety, in their freedom from fear, and in their ability to seek protection and accountability wherever abuse occurs.” The ongoing advocacy for the Special Seats for Women Bill, a constitutional reform proposal if successful would improve women’s leadership and stronger representation in Nigeria’s legislative institutions.
Development partners, government and civil society, are working in partnership with communities to ensure that the ideals of Rights, Justice and Action translate into tangible change for women and girls across Nigeria.
