Women’s Day events highlight major gaps in gender equality

By CIARÁN GILES and MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — From demands for constitutional rights in Islamabad to calls for economic parity in Manila, Paris and Madrid, International Women’s Day demonstrations are highlighting the unfinished work of providing equity for half of the planet’s population. While activists in some places celebrated political and legal advances, observances also pointed to repression in countries such as Afghanistan and Iran, as well as the large numbers of women and girls who experience sexual assaults and domestic violence. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this week that progress won over decades is vanishing because “the patriarchy is fighting back.”