International Women’s Day sparks marches, conferences across the Netherlands
International Women’s Day 2026 is being marked across the Netherlands on Sunday, with events in cities from Amsterdam and The Hague to Groningen, Alkmaar, and Rotterdam, AT5 reports. The nationwide celebrations focus on women’s rights, gender equality, and female empowerment, including marches, conferences, workshops, and exhibitions.
In Amsterdam, a Feminist March begins at 1 p.m. on the Dam, where a stage has been set up for speakers throughout the afternoon. Protesters will walk along the Rokin, Vijzelstraat, and Weteringschans toward the Museumplein.
The march is organized by a coalition of feminist organizations including ActionAid Nederland, Amnesty International NL, Atria, Bureau Clara Wichmann, Dolle Mina, FNV, Hivos, Imane Nadif, MamaCash, Oxfam Novib, PAX, Rajae Liesfi, Stem op een Vrouw, WO=MEN, and WOMEN Inc., and is expected to conclude around 4 p.m.
“This day is still very much needed,” Amnesty International says on its website. “Even in the Netherlands, much remains to be achieved. Abortion is still in the criminal code, and every year dozens of men murder their partner or ex. We do not accept that.”
At the same time, a conference titled “Women Unite,” co-hosted by Mayor Femke Halsema and Carré director Madeleine van der Zwaan, is being held at the Carré theater. Running from 11:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., the conference focuses on challenges women face today while celebrating the achievements of women breaking barriers. Tickets have sold out, and the program is primarily in English, with one session in Dutch and translation available for other segments.
Across the Netherlands, International Women’s Day events are ongoing throughout early March. Highlights include the Haagse Vrouwendagen in The Hague (March 1–8), the Feminist Festival in Wageningen (March 1–14), the HER Film Festival online (March 5–15), and local gatherings such as workshops, lectures, and exhibitions in Groningen, Alkmaar, Tilburg, Rotterdam, Nijmegen, Leiden, Den Haag, and Helmond.
Activities range from art tours and film screenings to lectures on women in politics and history, feminist panel discussions, and hands-on workshops for youth and adults.
International Women’s Day has its roots in early 20th-century activism, the Dutch edition of National Geographic wrote on Sunday. The first international observance took place on March 19, 1911, in Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Switzerland, primarily advocating women’s suffrage. Dutch feminist Aletta Jacobs proposed an annual women’s day in the Netherlands in 1901 to highlight social reforms and political rights, though her proposal initially received little follow-up.
Subsequent observances in the United States, starting in New York in 1909, and in Europe, including Clara Zetkin’s proposal at a socialist women’s conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1910, helped establish the day globally. The March 8 date was finalized after 1917 protests by female workers in Petrograd, Russia, and formally adopted in 1921, a practice that continues worldwide today.
