Today thousands of people will celebrate International Women's Day, an annual event held each year on March 8 that calls for the complete cessation of discrimination and violence against women and girls. While the occasion is never without criticism, women around the world seize the opportunity to lift each other up and promote the continued progress of feminism's many causes. In just a few images from today's varied festivities, U.N. Ambassador for gender equality Emma Watson illuminates the Empire State Building in magenta, First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to students at a Let Girls Learn initiative, Pakistani women march to end honor killings, and Paris Fashion Week models take a break from the catwalk to show their support.
Vive les femmes!Stephanie Talmadge
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