March 8, International Women's Day, is a day of vindication in which millions of women around the world mobilize for gender equality. It is not a celebration, it is a call to action to consolidate the rights acquired and to continue advancing towards a society without gender gaps.
In this sense, it is also a reminder that violence against women, especially gender-based and sexual violence, is the most bitter expression of a society that still has a lot of work to do to put an end to these scourges.
Six global challenges and migration
The General Conference Women's Ministry highlights six challenges that negatively impact women globally, urging constant prayer for them:
Abuse
Poverty
Health
Illiteracy
Workload
Leadership opportunities
In 2025, special emphasis is placed on the issue of migration, a phenomenon that has been present throughout human history and is of great relevance today. Official data show that more and more women are forced to migrate in search of better living conditions, whether for economic reasons, family reunification, political instability, natural disasters, or armed conflict. Many of them flee violence, exposing themselves to additional risks simply because they are migrant women.
The hell of migrant women
We already know that migration is a phenomenon that has accompanied humanity throughout its history and continues to be highly relevant in the current context. Without going any further, last February 24 there were elections in Germany and the question of the reception of refugees was one of the most controversial issues and, to a large extent, marked the election result. It is probably because, in most cases, migrants are perceived with distrust and discrimination, being considered a burden and a danger to the societies that receive them in their midst.
Why is this? Perhaps because these societies are increasingly forgetting that it is essential to address this issue, taking into account both the human and the divine perspective, recognizing the dignity of each and every person and their right to live in conditions of safety and well-being.
The reasons
The reality is that official data show without a doubt that in recent years there are more and more migrant women. What can drive a woman to leave her comfort zone, the security of the company of her family and friends?
The reasons are diverse. Sometimes they do it for work reasons and to advance their careers. Other times they migrate to help their families, hoping to obtain economic benefits to support them from where they are going. Some leave their home countries to join their partners, and many flee poverty or political instability, or natural disasters.
They also migrate fleeing war, not wishing to become part of the spoils, to avoid rape and humiliation. And in this journey to a supposedly better life, their vulnerability is evident and the dangers for them are multiplied by the mere fact of being what they are: women.
A Call to Prayer and Action for Migrant Women
In the remainder of this month and, why not, of this year, we propose to keep them present in your private and public prayers, perhaps because it is the least we can do for them.
Women's Ministries calls on us to remember in our prayers these courageous women who face countless challenges on their journey. In a world where migration is often viewed with distrust and discrimination, it is essential to approach this reality from a human and spiritual perspective, recognizing the dignity of each person.
In what remains of this month of March, and throughout the year, let us remember the words of Ephesians 3:20: “And now, glory be to God, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or think, because of his power that is at work within us.”
May we be a blessing. Amen!
Author: Mercedes Martínez Bou, Women's Ministries director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Spain.
revista.adventista.es/ministerio-de-la-mujer-orando-por-las-mujeres-migrantes/