International Day of the World’s Indigenous Women and Girls

September 05, 2026 – The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Women and Girls is being observed for the first time this year on September 5^th. The day is to raise awareness of the need to recognize and respect the rights and fundamental freedoms of all Indigenous women and girls as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

On this day, Inuit Circumpolar Council celebrates and acknowledges Inuit women as pillars of strength across our communities who continue to safeguard our languages, traditions and transmit the values that sustain Inuit societies and ways of life. Inuit women are cycle-breakers, confronting and transforming legacies of colonialism, violence, and inequality, ensuring opening new pathways for healing, dignity, and self-determination.

Inuit Circumpolar Council expresses concern that Inuit women, like Indigenous women around the world, continue to have a high risk of intersectional gender-based and racial discrimination, including Inuit with diverse gender identities, systemic discrimination, and high rates of violence and abuse, and of being missing or murdered. The consequences of these violations affect not only the individual woman, girl or gender diverse person but our collective Peoples across Inuit homelands and beyond Inuit homelands. 

Broad societal circumstances such as the housing crisis further exacerbates vulnerability to violence, displacement, and family separation, and must be addressed as an integral part of ensuring the safety, dignity, and human rights of Inuit women and families. 

The Inuit Circumpolar Council welcomes the recent Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Albert K. Barume entitled, “Historical and contemporary forms of violations against the sexual and reproductive health and rights of Indigenous women and girls” which includes Inuit women’s obstetric violence experiences.

Inuit Circumpolar Council hosted the first Inuit Women’s Summit in Sisimiut, Kalaallit Nunaat in October 2025. On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Women and Girls, Inuit Circumpolar Council reiterates the following call included in the Inuit Women’s Summit Declaration as follows:

Call upon the documentation and sharing of experiences and testimonies related to reproductive rights, ensuring that Inuit communities across all regions have access to culturally-grounded support, including therapy and healing services.

Inuit Women’s Summit Declaration:  ICC-Inuit-Womens-Summit-Declaration-final-29.10.25.pdf

2026 Iqaluit Declaration:https://www.inuitcircumpolar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026-07-25-ICC-GA-Declaration-FINAL.pdf

The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) is an Indigenous Peoples’ Organization (IPO), founded in 1977 to promote and celebrate the unity of 180,000 Inuit from Alaska (USA), Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka (Russia). ICC works to promote Inuit rights, safeguard the Arctic environment, and protect and promote the Inuit way of life. In regard to climate change, we believe that it is crucial for world leaders and governments to recognize, respect and fully implement the human rights of Inuit and all other Indigenous peoples across the globe.