Sunday 8th March marks International Women’s Day 2026, a time to pause, reflect and stand in solidarity with girls and women across the world. I will spend some of it in my home town of Tamworth alongside Cohort 4 women and Pathway Project from Lichfield and Tamworth area.
Coincidentally, yesterday I finished listening to Raise Your Soul: A Personal History of Resistance, a beautifully written and narrated audiobook by Yanis Varoufakis. In this deeply personal family biography, Yanis introduces five extraordinary women across the generations of his family, Eleni, Anna, Trisevgeni, Georgia and Danaë. Hearing their stories has been a privilege. These women lived their lives in Greece and Egypt against the backdrop of authoritarianism, dictatorship, civil war and economic crisis. Their experiences illuminate how feminist lives become acts of resistance. Thank you for writing and sharing their stories, feminist histories that reveal how women have confronted patriarchy, colonialism and political violence. This is a book I will not forget, made even more impactful through the author’s own voice.
As we move further into the 21st century, women’s lives continue to be abused and lost. The rise again of authoritarianism reminds us that progress is neither inevitable nor evenly felt. Today my thoughts are with women across the globe, including the 165 schoolgirls whose lives were brutally taken in the Shajarah Tayyebeh girls’ school only a week ago. Whilst aware of my own privilege, I know that until all women and girls are free from brutality, femicide and systematic exploitation, until every girl and woman can live a dignified life free from violence and abuse, I cannot rest.
International Women’s Day is both a celebration and a call to action. May we continue to name injustice, honour resistance, and contribute to a world where liberation is shared by all.
This year’s theme is Give To Gain encouraging generosity, reciprocity and supporting each other. When we live in communities that pull together time, funding and space, we all benefit and opportunities and support for women and girls increased. Sharing knowledge and encouragement with others is also important. I will be doing lots of this over the next week too, delivering peer mentoring training to women’s groups in my own community and to others in neighbouring counties.
#IWD2026 #GiveToGain #RaiseYourSoul #womenslives
