#8M25: La Via Campesina calls for a Global Day of Struggle
Call to Action | Bagnolet, 17 February
Defending our rights and Food Sovereignty, united against fascism, violence, and hunger!
As we approach the International Day of Working Women’s Struggle (08 March), La Via Campesina calls for a global mobilization to face the advance of fascism, violence and the food crisis. The peasant movement denounces the impact of social and economic crises, evidenced by rising poverty, unemployment, rural debt, and the severe migration crises which affect both rural and urban areas. It also highlights the growing influence of neoliberal policies that undermine historical rights and the common good, enabling the plundering of natural resources and the weakening of democracy, which mainly affects women, diversities and children.
Alarm over the advance of Fascism and Militarization
La Via Campesina warns about the rise of right-wing governments promoting fascist and racist practices. Militarization in countries such as Palestine, Sudan, Yemen, Haiti, Ecuador and Colombia is a major concern, as it has a direct impact on the self-determination of the peoples, while multiplying violence and criminalizing social movements.
The role played by peasant, indigenous, fisher, pastoralist, nomadic, migrant, and agricultural worker women and diversities is essential in the struggle for a social model based on Food Sovereignty and social and environmental justice. Peasant agroecology stands as a viable alternative to the capitalist, patriarchal, and neoliberal system that threatens ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. We need to promote an urgent agroecological transition in the hands of peasants and rural and urban communities.
Nevertheless, the capitalist model of agribusiness and mining continues to expand across our territories and ecosystems. We are being killed by agricultural extractivism, agrotoxins and modern-day slavery practices, burdened with microcredits that push us into debt, forcing us off our lands and worsening the environmental and social crisis.
Food Crisis and Structural Violence
The 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that more than 280 million people face acute hunger daily. The food crisis is directly linked to conflicts and to the extractivist model, which displaces entire communities and threatens food sovereignty.
La Vía Campesina denounces the simultaneous rise in gender-based violence and the impunity surrounding femicides. In 2023, UN Women recorded 85,000 murders of women and girls, 51,000 of which were committed by partners or close family members. The organization underscores the urgent need for public policies that protect women and prevent the repeal of laws on femicide, gender parity, and sexual education.
Today, as every day, we raise our voices for the victims. We do not forget their names; those who are no longer with us remain present in our struggle and memory. We demand justice – no more impunity, no more silence!
Call to Antifascist Action on #8M25
Women have reaped political victories that were long cultivated through organization and mobilization. The achievement of rights is the result of the collective effort of the working class. We salute all women who, in different territories, sustain life, food, care, and social transformations.
As La Via Campesina, we reaffirm our commitment to Peasant and Popular Feminism and its campaign Stop Violence, promoting concrete responses to current crises through food sovereignty and feminist struggle.
At the same time, we call for international solidarity and mobilization against fascism, in defense of human rights, Food Sovereignty and social justice. Women continue marching, denouncing violence and environmental and social crimes, resisting the looting of our resources and the massacre of our peoples. We continue weaving networks and alliances to expose patriarchy, capitalism and neoliberalism as a threat to life on this planet!
As part of this Global Day of Action, we urge you to actively participate by:
- Downloading the communications pack and adapt the official poster to local languages.
- Send information about actions, statements, photos and videos to communications[at]viacampesina.org.
- Following and sharing on social media, using the hashtags: #8M25 #PeasantAndPopularFeminism #WomenInStruggle #FoodSovereigntyNow #StopViolenceAgainstWomen
- Tagging La Via Campesina on social media:
- Facebook: @viacampesinaOFFICIAL
- Instagram: @la_via_campesina_official
- Twitter: @via_campesina