On this International Solidarity Day with Saharawi Women, the World March of Women (WMW) continue to raise its voice in unwavering solidarity with Saharawi women and the entire Saharawi people. For five decades, Western Sahara has remained Africa’s last colony. The inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination continues to be denied.

In recent months, diplomatic developments have once again put Western Sahara at the centreof international debate. The renewal of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) without concrete progress toward organising a referendum highlights the ongoing political deadlock. While certain international actors continue to promote autonomy proposals, these frameworks cannot replace the fundamental right of the Saharawi people to freely determine their political future through a genuine and democratic process. Any solution imposed without their consent risks deepening injustice and instability.

Meanwhile, the reality on the ground remains deeply concerning. Sahrawi women living under Moroccan occupation continue to face repression, surveillance, restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, and harassment of human rights defenders. Peaceful activists many of them women, endure intimidation and arbitrary detention simply for demanding dignity and self-determination. The exploitation of Western Sahara’s natural resources without the consent of its people further entrenches economic injustice and colonial extraction, undermining livelihoods and environmental sustainability.

In the refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, generations of Saharawi families have lived in displacement since 1975. In these harsh desert conditions, Sahrawi women have built schools, health centres, community structures, and political organisations. They have sustained social life, preserved cultural identity, and maintained collective resistance despite protracted exile. Their leadership in organising daily life, education, and diplomacy demonstrates not only resilience but political clarity and feminist strength.

Sahrawi women stand at the forefront of the liberation struggle. They are human rights defenders, educators, diplomats, workers, and leaders. Their struggle is inseparable from the global feminist fight against colonialism, militarisation, patriarchy, and economic exploitation. The continued occupation of Western Sahara reflects the intersection of militarised control, gendered violence, economic plunder, and the silencing of women’s political voices.

We call on the United Nations, regional bodies, and all governments to uphold their legal and moral responsibilities. Silence and neutrality in the face of occupation perpetuate injustice. A just and lasting peace can only be achieved through decolonisation and respect for the will of the Saharawi people.

On this 18th of February, we are proud of the courage of Sahrawi women who continue to resist in the occupied territories, in the refugee camps, and across the diaspora. Their determination strengthens our collective struggle for a world free from occupation, war, and patriarchal violence.

Until self-determination is accomplished until occupation ends, and until Sahrawi women live in freedom and dignity — we will continue to stand with them.

World March of Women