Thousands of women demonstrated in various Swiss cities on Saturday and Sunday for International Women's Day. Larger demonstrations occurred in Bern, Zurich, Lausanne, and Basel. International Women's Day is understood as a political and societal wake-up call aimed at dismantling structural barriers to equality.
The Swiss Trade Union Federation refrained from a specific equality event because Women's Day fell on a federal referendum Sunday. Over 1000 people participated in an unauthorized demonstration in Bern on Sunday. Participants in Bern positioned themselves 'against patriarchal violence, fascism, and the rightward shift'.
Demonstrators in Bern gathered at the train station square and then started a march through the city center. They chanted slogans such as 'No war, no state, no patriarchy' and 'Against banks and sexists'. An unknown collective called for a 'militant demonstration' for the 'queer-feminist day of struggle'.
The demonstration in Bern was open to all genders, aiming to make the space safe and accessible for everyone. At the start of the rally in Bern, demonstrators commemorated with a 29-second scream the 29 victims of femicides in Switzerland in 2025. In Zurich, the motto of the unauthorized demonstration on Saturday was 'Feminist and militant'.
Heterosexual men were called upon in the flyer to 'stay away in solidarity' from the Zurich demonstration. Over 1000 women participated in the Zurich demonstration. There were numerous property damages along the route from Paradeplatz to Helvetiaplatz in Zurich.
Participants in Zurich repeatedly ignited pyrotechnic objects. Tram stations and shop windows were smeared in Zurich. The city police in Zurich were present with a large contingent but let the women proceed.
In Basel, around 600 people demonstrated on Sunday for International Women's Day. They gathered at the market square for an unauthorized rally with speeches and dances. Banners in Basel read 'Fintas fight hand in hand – feminist militant' or 'Our bodies, our lives'.
The police in Basel were on site but stayed in the background.