International Women's Day
In some parts of the world, girls debate their rights in university classrooms. In others, girls debate whether they will be allowed to attend school at all. The discussion about women's rights often assumes that progress is universal, but the reality is far more uneven. While the past decades have seen important global progress in education, political participation and legal protections for women, these gains are not shared equally. When I travelled outside Nepal for the first time, I began to understand that women's rights are not the same everywhere, across regions such as South Asia and in conflict-affected countries, women and girls continue to face barriers to basic rights that many elsewhere now take for granted.
The country where a woman is born still determines how free she can be.
As the world marks International Women's Day 2026 under the theme "Rights, Justice, Action for All Women and Girls," my thoughts return to women and girls in Afghanistan who are still asking for things many of us consider basic rights such as education, healthcare and the ability to move freely. International Women's Day, celebrated on March 8, began in the early twentieth century from labour movements demanding better rights and working conditions for women. First observed in 1911, it was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1975, and today it serves as both a celebration of progress and a reminder of the work still needed to achieve gender equality.
Growing up in Nepal, I believed women's rights meant demanding more seats in politics, stronger representation in education and the freedom to raise our voices against harassment and violence. These were important struggles, and they still are. But my travels across different countries changed how I understand women's rights.
In November 2023, I travelled to Pohnpei, state where the capital of the Federated States of Micronesia is located. Micronesia is a region made up of thousands of small islands scattered across the Pacific Ocean. Coming from Nepal, a landlocked country, even seeing the ocean from an airplane felt surreal.
What struck me most in Pohnpei was how normal it was for women to live freely. My female colleagues drove themselves to work. They were surprised to learn that I did not even have a driving license in my thirties. For them, driving was simply a part of everyday independence.
Later, when I travelled to Chuuk, another state of Micronesia, I noticed how women dressed according to comfort and weather. During the hot summer, a colleague asked me why I was so covered up in the heat. For them, clothing was a matter of comfort rather than social judgment. But the biggest cultural difference came when a colleague explained something about land ownership. In Chuuk, land traditionally passes through the mother's lineage. Property and clan membership are inherited from mother to daughter. Hearing this shocked me because it reminded me of the situation back home.
In Nepal, women still struggle to inherit family property. Even though the government provides tax incentives if property is registered in a woman's name, only about 39 percent of landowners are women. Many daughters are still excluded from inheritance in practice, despite legal reforms.
Yet my Micronesian female colleagues did not frame their ambitions primarily around women's rights. They spoke about improving their country's economy and reducing dependence on imports. Their focus had already shifted from claiming basic rights to contributing to national development.
Then, in June 2025, I travelled to Afghanistan. That visit changed my perspective entirely.
Upon arrival in Kabul, I had to wear a hijab and burqa. For someone not accustomed to it, navigating the heat and unfamiliar clothing was uncomfortable. But that discomfort was nothing compared to the daily reality faced by Afghan women.
Under current restrictions, women must often be accompanied by a Mahram, a male guardian, when they travel outside their homes. Girls are banned from secondary school. Women are banned from universities. In many cases, women cannot move freely without a male relative.
During my visit, I spoke with a woman who had once studied medicine before the policy changes of 2021. She told me something heartbreaking about her daughter. The girl did not want to celebrate her birthday because growing older meant losing more freedom. After sixth grade, she would no longer be allowed to attend school. Even visiting parks or playing freely would become restricted.
These girls do not dream of leadership positions or corporate careers. Many of them simply want to go to school.
For some, the consequences are even more severe. Early marriage becomes more common. Opportunities shrink to household work and childbearing. Even accessing healthcare can become dangerous. Women in labor may need a male guardian to accompany them to hospitals, and they must often be treated by female health workers. When these conditions are not available, both mother and child face life-threatening risks.
These experiences reminded me that women's rights are not a single global reality. They exist on a spectrum shaped by culture, politics, law and geography.
In my opinion, women's rights today exist across three layers of inequality. In some countries, women debate leadership representation and equal participation in decision-making. In others, women are still struggling for economic rights such as property ownership and inheritance. And in some places, women continue to fight for the most fundamental rights; the ability to learn, move freely and live safely.
My travels from Nepal to Micronesia to Afghanistan showed me how dramatically these realities differ. In one place, women are focused on national development. In another, women are still negotiating their economic independence. And in another, girls are simply hoping they will be allowed to go to school.
As we mark International Women's Day, it is important to remember that progress in one place does not mean progress everywhere. Women's rights should not depend on the country where a girl is born. Until every girl wherever she is born has the freedom to learn, move and shape her future, the conversation about women's rights remains unfinished.
Because freedom, dignity and opportunity should never be determined by geography.