International Women' Day was first observed in 1975. Later in 1977, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 8 March as International Women's Day in favour of women's rights and world peace. Women's rights. and World Peace. TRENDING STORIES See All Premium Uber might need to stow its freight train Premium Vatican agrees to return pieces of Parthenon to Greece Premium How fake news alarmed TN’s migrant workers Premium Jerome Powell says Fed is prepared to speed up interest . . . On the eve of International Women's Day here's taking a look at the deplorable situation wherein women are being deprived of what is considered basic human rights. ‘Hijab’ rules, strict Sharia law, moral police custody death, rampant rape, women murdered chopped up and stored in fridge- this has plagued the plight of the feminine self's existence. The two biggest global concern now stands on the plight of women in Iran and that in Afghanistan Let's take a look Iran Protests that started off as demonstration against the unjust authority of the ‘Iran Moral police’ has now changed into a full blown anti-government protest. The massive protests in Iran joined by women and men was triggered by the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini . Amini had been arrested by the Guidance Patrol for allegedly violating Iran's mandatory hijab law by wearing her hijab "improperly" while visiting Tehran from Saqqez. According to eyewitnesses, she had been severely beaten by Guidance Patrol officers, an assertion denied by Iranian authorities. This was followed by civil unrest. In addition to demands for increased rights for women, the protests have demanded the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, setting them apart from previous major protest movements in Iran, which have focused on election results or economic woes. MORE FROM THIS SECTION See All Premium Premium Vatican agrees to return pieces of Parthenon to Greece Premium Premium How fake news alarmed TN’s migrant workers Premium Premium Vikas Lifecare’s subsidiary enters into JV with Indrapr . . . Premium Premium How women use their money: a report card The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei government has dismissed the protest entirely. They have called the protest as "riots" and“hybrid war" caused by foreign states and dissidents abroad. Experts say since after the Islamic revolution in 1979, these protests have now posed as the biggest challenge to the Iran government. Protesters have resorted to boycotts, flash mobs, women chopping off their hair, and slogans to oppose the stringent rules imposed by the Islamist government. The women here have been rendered scrambling for their bare minimum rights of a peaceful survival. Afghanistan Since the Taliban rule reinstated itself in 2021, it also established an indirectly proportional relationship with the rights of women in the country. Every other day the Taliban rules seems to cement monstrous, unimaginable restrictions on women in the country. The Taliban commanders have effectively squeezed women out of the public domain. Women have been removed from many government jobs or are paid a fraction of their former salary to stay at home. They are also barred from going to parks, fairs, gyms and public baths, and must cover up in public. Divorces have been annulled, forcing women to go back to their abusive husbands, while women have been banned from universities. News reports suggested that women sat protesting outside the Kabul University on 7 March, as male students rejoined their classes for a new academic session. The reality, according to some Taliban officials, is that the religious scholars advising Afghanistan’s supreme leader Haibatullah Akhunzada are deeply sceptical of modern education for women, AFP had mentioned in a report. As UN terms this ‘gender-based apartheid’ women have fled and are in hiding in order to survive. “The human rights situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating rapidly, and the Taliban’s relentless abuses continue every single day," said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general. Catch all the Business News , Market News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates. More Less OPEN IN APP.