IWD 2025: 10 petitions to support this International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day, recognised internationally on 8th March, has changed considerably since its inception in the early 20th century. Building on the success of the global suffrage movement to give women the vote, International Women’s Day was initially focused on democratic and labour rights.

Whilst that is still the case, the occasion has evolved to include a much wider range of issues across the breadth of social, economic and political life; and is an opportunity to celebrate the empowerment of women everywhere.

This diversity is reflected in the range of UK petitions on Change.org. This 8th March, we’re shining a spotlight on some of the most interesting and empowering petitions started on our platform by women (and men) who want to see – and make – women’s rights a priority in their communities across the UK and beyond.

Unusually, International Women’s Day this year coincides with Ramadan. Rizwana Rahim, a south London resident, is campaigning for her local mosque to offer daily prayers to female worshippers in her Change.org petition. As Ramadan has started, access to space in mosques has become a hot topic of discussion on social media.

Concerned Women’s Super League Fans are urging the football’s governing body to oppose a ‘closed league’ proposal in women’s football with their petition on Change.org. They claim that the opportunity of promotion – and threat of relegation – is an integral part of the sport, and is every bit as fundamental to the women’s game as it is for the men’s; where there are no plans to create a closed league.

Jodie’s petition to ban AI deepfake porn, after becoming a victim of it herself, was started in 2024 and is still moving from strength to strength. Jodie was able to celebrate a win in January, after the Government confirmed they would outlaw deepfakes, but she is still campaigning to hold tech companies accountable for hosting the content, and is calling for more Government funding for specialist services.

Catherine Mayer, co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party, started her petition to honour Gisèle Pelicot with the Nobel Peace Prize and was supported by almost 175,000 people from countries around the world. The Spanish Government even formally backed the petition to recognise Gisèle’s heroic role in fighting against misogyny and rape.

Laura Longworth used Change.org to call on the Government to extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector after her baby suffered health complications due to black mould in her privately rented flat. In her petition, she specifically noted the impact of poor housing conditions on other mums and pregnant women.

Amanda Crook, an Executive Editor at the Manchester Evening News, used Change.org to call on the Government, and police forces, to more effectively enforce restraining orders in order to protect victims of domestic abuse. The petition is part of the MEN’s wider campaign against misogyny and violence against women and girls.

Ellie Rees, founder and new business director at ethical estate agency Brickworks, launched a campaign, aimed at the Law Society of England and Wales, to end the use of ‘Dear Sirs’ as the default language between solicitors and estate agents. “It’s hard to believe that this is so visible yet has remained unchallenged for so long,” she says.

After noticing a “disturbing disparity” between the amount of boys and girls toilets at local sporting events, mum-of-two and football coach Natalie Booth decided to take action. Her petition calls for the mandatory provision and access of toilet facilities at all youth football venues in the UK to encourage more young girls to take part in sport.

It’s not just women who campaign for women’s rights, of course. Clive Zimheni’s petition to extend paternity leave to match post-birth recovery periods is a step in the right direction in ensuring mothers are supported during the early months of parenthood. He says: “Fathers typically receive significantly less time off than the average recovery period for mothers after childbirth, which is approximately four weeks, or around eight weeks following a caesarean section.”

And Josh Babarinde, MP for Eastbourne, is calling for the creation of a specific offence for domestic abuse to ensure that domestic abusers’ convictions reflect the nature and context of their crimes. He says: “They should not be able to hide behind general convictions anymore.” Josh is joined in his campaign by Elizabeth Hudson, whose ex-husband was jailed in 2023 after he assaulted her and held a knife to her throat. He was convicted of ABH, which does not disqualify him from early release.

You can find many more UK petitions concerning women’s rights here.