The United Nations’ theme for International Women’s Day 2026 – “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls” is a call to dismantle discriminatory laws, policies, practices and systemic barriers that pose barriers towards women equality and empowerment. Despite notable progress on gender equality globally, glaring gaps persist across education attainment, skill development, health outcomes, livelihood opportunities, leadership roles, resource-sharing and mobility.

Still, less than 20 per cent of the world’s landholders are women, around 40 per cent of rural girls attend secondary school, many are excluded from decision-making roles and subjected to systemic violence, segregation, and neglect. Moving forward requires interventions that are comprehensive, long- term and transformative, going beyond welfare and incremental policy fixes. In this context, the Indian government’s approach of women-led development under Prime Minister Modi adds a significant dimension to the gender agenda.

By hailing Nari Shakti as a driving pillar of society and innovation, it positions women as architects of India’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision and development journey rather than passive beneficiaries. This approach prioritizes gender and embeds it in structural framework by adopting a life cycle perspective, mainstreaming gender across policy areas and introducing targeted interventions including inducting women into new domains, thus breaking the traditional silo approach and seeking to shift societal attitudes, beyond just economic empowerment.

Lest we forget, the genesis of International Women’s Day lies in the 1909 strike of New York garment workers demanding fair wages, dignity and better conditions. That spark grew into a global movement and IWD was recognized by the UN in 1975. For centuries, women across........

© The Statesman