On March 8 International Working Women’s Day: Counter Rising Fascism with Working Women’s Unity!
The first months of 2026 have laid bare the reality of the crisis in the global capitalist system: that conflict between imperialist powers will result in war and economic instability, and that the most vulnerable in society will endure the brunt of the crisis. Already in 2026 women and children have suffered from US bombings, forced starvation, climate catastrophe, fascist attacks, and outsized economic decline - leaving more and more women and children hungry, vulnerable, and at risk for increased violence against them.
The current war with Iran comes just after Trump attacked Venezuela in January. Both Iran and Venezuela have strong economic ties with China and Russia, its biggest rivals. The US dominated western media of claiming these attacks are for the protection of US security are a farce – the real reason behind these attacks are due to economic and political competition with China and Russia; oil and natural resources extraction and control and dominance over major trading routes. The US is desperate to maintain its hegemony and global dominance because of the crisis of the capitalist system. Trump’s creation of the “Board of Peace” with him as the self-proclaimed chairman has nothing to do with promoting peace, but more to do with securing US presence in West Asia and overseeing Gaza’s “reconstruction” project for further economic gain. For many, the “Board of Peace” is a sign that the US is losing its influence over NATO.
Working and toiling women carry double the burden of being victims of imperialist violence and war while also being used as justification for imperialist intervention. In reality, there can be no liberation for women and no safety for children under a global system where bombs are dropped and bullets are shot to protect imperialist interests at the expense of innocent lives. On February 28, 165 school girls in Iran were killed by US bombs dropped in the name of "liberating the people of Iran". The murder of innocent Iranian children by the US came weeks behind US reports claiming that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killing protesters in the streets and inflated the number of reported casualties. In reality, the autopsies of children and women killed during the protests in Iran revealed that they had been killed by Israeli issued bullets and weaponry - and that state agencies such as Mosad and the CIA had provoked the protests in order to continue their campaign to undermine Iran. Any claims that US and Zionist bombs are tools to save the people of Iran is a boldfaced lie intended to overshadow imperialist greed for oil, trade, and control of West Asia.
US imperialist war and plunder force families in exploited countries to choose between fighting for survival at home or enduring horrendous conditions as migrants in host countries. In the face of mounting global crises, fascist attacks on migrants have continued to escalate - with many women being separated from their families and facing abuse at work and in detention; or suddenly becoming single mothers when their partners are detained or deported. Children have been exposed as innocent victims of these fascist attacks - as reports have exposed the reality of the neglect of migrant children in state custody leading to sexual violence, illness and addiction. Migrant workers and workers from the host country must unite to mount campaigns against fascist attacks, call for an end of US aggression that leads to forced migration, and enjoin their class interests to truly seek genuine liberation from exploitation.
Women all over the world are aware of this reality and are actively fighting back against state violence, US led wars, rising prices, low wages, inflation, land grabbing, environmental disasters, and corruption. Already in 2026 Women workers in India joined the historic strike of over 300 million workers; Women workers in the United States have been fighting to shut down ICE and protect their migrant neighbors; peasant women in the Philippines have been on the front lines of the anti-corruption movement - calling for the ouster of US-puppet Ferdinand Marcos Jr; and women in Venezuela have united the world to come to the defense of Cilia Flores and her husband Nicolas Maduro after they were illegally kidnapped and detained by the US. Women workers and toilers have served as an inspiration in the midst of rising global crisis and on this IWWD we honor their tenacity, steadfastness, and dedication to fighting for a better world.
Just as our working sisters mobilized for bread and roses, for increased wages, and an end to World Wars in the 1900s - we must also unite nationally and globally to broaden the women's movement against exploitation and violence to oppose war, corruption, and systems which do not serve the majority. International Working Women’s Day has always united women under the banner of fighting for pro-worker economic systems; and to ensure working and toiling women played a role in changing and shaping society into something better for the majority of people. In 2026, IWA calls on our members to unite and mobilize for the rights of all working women; to expose corruption; and fight for an end to the capitalist system!