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M8 is here, and it’s the perfect time to talk about why the right to abortion is part of the broader fight for women’s rights.
Why is M8 crucial?
International Women’s Day is rooted in decades of women’s struggles for justice. Although women have been organizing for centuries, the date gained international recognition in the 1990s.
The first National Women’s Day was held in February 1909 in New York. A year later, at the Second International Socialist Women’s Conference in Denmark, March was chosen as Women’s Month. Then, in March 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York, killing 123 women and 23 men. The factory owners were found guilty of negligence in civil court but were acquitted in criminal court and only paid $75 per victim to the families.
This tragedy led to workplace safety reforms, though many employers ignored them. It’s believed that this fire inspired the feminist color purple since purple blouses were made in the factory, and the smoke filled the New York sky with that color.2
On March 8, 1917, Russian women protested the war and food shortages. This sparked widespread recognition of the date, and in 1975, the UN (United Nations).
International Women’s Day isn’t about celebrating gender; it’s about honoring those who have fought for women’s rights. And as Simone de Beauvoir famously warned:
“Never forget that it will only take a political, economic, or religious crisis for women’s rights to be called into question again. These rights are never permanent. We must remain vigilant throughout our lives.”
Women’s rights include the right to control their bodies, including sexual and reproductive health. That’s why at Telefem, we connect you with experts who support your choices when facing an unplanned pregnancy.
Why do women march on March 8?
Today, women continue to fight for life, freedom, and dignity. Movements include:3
–Welcome home our daughters (Ciudad Juárez, 2001), who have been fighting against femicide since 1993.
–#NiUnaMenos (Argentina, 2015), a movement against gender-based violence that spread across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe.
–#MeToo (2017), which exposed how widespread sexual harassment and assault are in women’s lives.
–Green Tide (Argentina, 2018), a wave of activism demanding free and legal abortion, symbolized by the green scarf.
–Las Tesis (Chile, 2019), a feminist collective whose performance “A rapist in your path,” based on Rita Segato’s work, went viral worldwide.
The right to abortion
One of the core demands at March 8 rallies is an end to gender-based violence, and the criminalization of abortion is a clear example. It forces childbearing people into unsafe procedures, which can lead to serious health consequences or even death. It denies women, girls, and childbearing people the autonomy to decide about their own bodies, sexuality, motherhood, and life plans.4
Criminalizing abortion leads to unsafe and dangerous procedures. When performed under legally restricted conditions, unsafe abortion is linked to high maternal mortality, severe health complications both short- and long-term, and excessive costs that burden public health systems.⁴
That’s why it’s urgent to address, regulate, and guarantee the right to abortion through a public health and human rights lens. Expanding the legal, social, economic, and cultural conditions that allow women to achieve the highest attainable standard of health includes the right to safe abortion, exercising their reproductive autonomy, and making decisions freely and with dignity.⁴
Seek out spaces that won’t judge your choice to have a safe abortion. At Telefem, we provide remote medical support with professionals who respect your decisions and your autonomy.
Green scarves and March 8
At M8 rallies, you’ll often see purple and green scarves, as we mentioned, purple traces back to the Triangle Factory fire. But where did the green scarf come from?
In 1977, during Argentina’s dictatorship, mothers of the Plaza de Mayo began wearing white scarves while demanding answers about their disappeared children. In 2005, Argentina’s National Campaign for the Right to Safe and Legal Abortion adopted the green scarf as its symbol.5
The green scarf is a powerful and proud expression of support for safe abortion. It also symbolizes care and solidarity when gifted, becomes a source of income for those who make and sell it, provides a sense of safety when recognized in public, and sometimes is hidden in fear of judgment.5
The right to safe and free abortion is a core demand on March 8th. It remains the only essential healthcare service that is still treated as a crime in several states or if performed after 12 pregnancy weeks. Even where it is legal, healthcare providers often engage in obstetric and gynecological violence by trying to pressure pregnant people to change their minds, or by judging and shaming them throughout the process. Health is a universal right, but it is only criminalized when it comes to women. Until abortion is legal, safe, secular, free, and a healthy, non-traumatic experience, the fight will go on.
If you know someone facing an unplanned pregnancy, it’s crucial to know there are organizations like Telefem that offer nationwide remote medical guidance through professional support.
Found this helpful? For more on reproductive health and safe abortion, visit our blog—get all your questions answered. See you there!
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* This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice.
References:
- Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal. Día internacional de la mujer. Gobierno de México. [Internet]. 2019. [Visit March 2025]. Available at: https://www.gob.mx/inafed/articulos/8-de-marzo-día-internacional-de-la-mujer-193752#:~:text=Sin%20embargo%20el%20hecho%20hist%C3%B3rico,perecieron%20m%C3%A1s%20de%20140%20mujeres
- Cortés JI. Triangle Shirtwaist: el incendio que hizo avanzar el reconocimiento de los derechos de la mujer. Amnistía Internacional España. [Internet]. 2023. [Visit March 2025]. Available at: https://www.es.amnesty.org/en-que-estamos/blog/historia/articulo/triangle-shirtwaist-derechos-de-la-mujer/
- Pérez Higuera E. Las luchas feministas y la violencia de género: revolución y resistencia. Blog Universidad Latina de América. [Internet]. 2021. [Visit March 2025]. Available at : https://www.unla.mx/blogunla/las-luchas-feministas-y-la-violencia-de-genero-revolucion-y-resistencia#:~:text=Durante%20las%20%C3%BAltimas%20d%C3%A9cadas%20la,movimiento%20feminista%20en%20el%20mundo
- IPAS México. 8M: el aborto debe dejar de ser tratado como un crimen, es un asunto de salud pública. [Internet]. 2022. [Visit March 2025]. Available at: https://ipasmexico.org/2022/03/08/8m-el-aborto-debe-dejar-de-ser-tratado-como-un-crimen-es-un-asunto-de-salud-publica/
- Felitti K. y R. Ramírez-Morales. Pañuelos verdes por el aborto legal: historia, significados y circulaciones en Argentina y México. [Internet]. [Visit March 2025]. 2019;4(5)11-145. Available at: https://ciesas.repositorioinstitucional.mx/jspui/bitstream/1015/1062/1/felitti-ramirez-panuelos-verdes-aborto-argentina-mexico.pdf