March 8 is International Women’s Day, and many around the world are celebrating women's achievements and the gains made for gender equality
Feminists around the world set to celebrate women and rally for their rights
CBC News ·
People release sky-lanterns on the eve of International Women's Day in Manila on March 7, 2016. (Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images)
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On the eve of International Women's Day, celebrated on March 8, people all over the world are making preparations for the holiday.
In Ukraine, subway staff gave blooms to female commuters, while Russian tulip-growers hastily harvested flowers for men to give to the women in their lives.
Women's rights advocates in other countries rallied. In the Philippines, male students and soldiers marched around a park in high heels. In Turkey, a feminist rally turned ugly when protesters were fired at with rubber bullets.
Check out these inspiring images of equality-loving men and women around the world.
Businesswomen in Pakistan and Ivory Coast fight for their rights
Pakistani workers dye scarves at their home in Karachi on Monday, ahead of International Women's Day. Women in Pakistan have fought for their rights for decades, in a country where so-called honour killings and acid attacks remain commonplace. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)
Fofanan Man, a 59-year-old businesswoman, poses for a photograph in front of textiles in her shop in Bouake, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 10. Women have long played a dominant role in agriculture in Ivory Coast and in the sprawling markets where most Ivorians purchase their daily necessities. Now some are breaking through into the most important positions in government, administration and business — positions long held by males in this traditional society. (Thierry Gouegnon/Reuters)
Sky lanterns and male allies in the Philippines
People in the Philippines release sky-lanterns on the eve of International Women's Day in Manila. The event calls for the end of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls. (Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images)
Filipino male students stand behind a banner as they wear women's shoes during a rally a day before the celebration of International Women's Day in Quezon City, northeast of Manila. (Erik De Castro/Reuters)
Male students and soldiers wearing high-heeled shoes march around a park to pay tribute to women all over the world in Quezon City. (Bullit Marquez/Associated Press)
Polish and Turkish feminists rally
A man holds a placard with the words 'I have taught my son to not beat' during an annual march organized by a women's organization ahead of International Women's Day in Warsaw. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters)
A woman holds a placard during an annual march organized by a women's group ahead of International Women's Day in Warsaw. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters)
Turkish women march to protest against the government and violence against women during a rally prior to International Women's Day, in Ankara. The banner reads, 'We are Resisting for Life, Peace, Labour and Freedom!' (Burhan Ozbilici/Associated Press)
Demonstrators run from rubber pellets fired during a protest ahead of International Women's Day in Istanbul on March 6. (Osman Orsal/Reuters)
A Turkish woman gives a V sign during a march in the Kadikoy district of Istanbul to mark International Women's Day. (Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images)
An emotional gathering in Israel
Women who took part in a project ahead of International Women's Day hug during a meeting with Nechama Rivlin (not pictured), wife of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem on Monday. The women, who are victims of sexual abuse, appeared on the cover of Israeli women's magazine Laisha as part of a project encouraging women to speak out against sexual violence. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
Ukraine and Russia show their appreciation with flowers
Subway staff offer flowers to female passengers ahead of International Women's Day in Kiev. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
Employees harvest tulips to create bouquets during preparations for the upcoming International Women's Day at a municipal greenhouse in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on Feb. 26. Millions of Russian men will acknowledge women they love by offering them flowers and souvenirs on March 8. (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)
