As International Women’s Day (IWD) was celebrated on March 8, the global landscape remains a stark reminder that for millions of women’s equality is not a corporate slogan, but a matter of literal survival.

While policy papers often speak of progress, the data from early 2025 and 2026 paints a grim picture of how modern warfare and systemic instability have weaponised the female body.

Every year on March 8, the world observes International Women’s Day, a day meant to celebrate the achievements of women and reaffirm the global commitment to gender equality. Yet, as the world marks this symbolic day in 2026, the global landscape tells a far more troubling story. In regions engulfed by war from the Gaza Strip to Ukraine, from Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo to Iran and Israel, to Russia and the Afghanistan and not to leave out India – women are not only victims of conflict but often its most vulnerable targets.

As of 2025 and 2026, global conflicts have reached their highest intensity since 1946, creating a catastrophic environment for women and girls where hard-won rights are rapidly unraveling.

Approximately 676 million women – nearly 17 per cent of the global female population- now live within 50 kilometers of an active conflict, a modern record that correlates with a 50 per cent spike in maternal mortality in these zones compared to non-conflict settings. This has created a very dangerous situation for women and girls, and many of the rights they fought hard to achieve are now under serious threat. This is the highest number recorded in modern times. Living so close to war and violence affects every part of their lives, including safety, health, education, and basic freedom.

One of the most worrying consequences is the impact on maternal health. In areas affected by war, hospitals are often destroyed, medicines are scarce, and doctors ‘may’ flee the region if they survive the bombs. Because of this, maternal deaths are about 50 per cent higher in conflict zones than in peaceful areas.

Women and girls in these regions also face a greater risk of sexual violence,........

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