Celebrate International Lesbian Day with community victories

Today is International Lesbian Day, and ILGA World celebrates with all the incredible lesbians in all their diversity breaking barriers and living their truth!

From securing rights to building safer communities, lesbians everywhere are paving the way for a better world for everyone, in our LGBTI communities and beyond.

On this 8 October, we asked our Women’s committee members: “What is a victory that you are proud of?”. Here is what they told us.

As a local, national and international, transfeminist, lesbian, activist for LGBTIQA+ rights from Italy, what a one-of-a-kind lesbian victory it was to proudly march, through the streets of Rome, the capital city of my country, on the occasion of the first-ever Italian Dyke March I contributed to organising alongside tireless, fearless fellow Dykes coming from all over Italy, to mark the International Lesbian Visibility Day 2025.

Commemorating 30 years since the first Dyke March, led by the Lesbian Avengers in Washington in 1993, on the same day and a few kilometres away from where the Pope was laid to rest, Dykes rose against Fascism.

We, hundreds of Italian lesbian, bisexual, queer, aroace, cisgender and transgender women, as well as non-binary people who feel a connection to lesbian identity and/or lesbian activism, despite an extraordinary explicit ban on dynamic demonstrations connected to the Pope’s funeral, took the streets of Rome, heart to heart, side by side with more than 400 fellow lesbians* coming from all over Europe and Central Asia for the fourth international lesbian EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community Conference, running from April 23, 2025 and April 26, 2025.

In light of the far-right Italian Government’ s relentless open attacks against the (few) rights and impervious existence of LGBTIQ+ individuals, and, more precisely, lesbian mothers and transgender individuals, we held hope for a more equal and inclusive world, one where every lesbian, everywhere, has the right to thrive.

History was made in the Philippines last Women’s Month with the first-ever National LBQT Conference. Lesbian, bisexual, queer, and trans leaders from across the country came together to share their stories and shape a national policy agenda.

This gathering marked a turning point towards visibility and inclusion, ensuring that the unique realities of LBQT people are seen, heard, and represented in national conversations on rights and governance.

On International Lesbian Day, we celebrate this moment of solidarity and the reclaiming of our space toward transformative and inclusive policies for all.

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe’s Rainbow Barbie celebrates achievement, identity, and culture. As a Māori lesbian athlete from Aotearoa New Zealand, she shows the world the power of queer women in the Pacific. Her tā moko and rainbow scrunchie remind us that heritage and sexuality are sources of pride.

On International Lesbian Day, we honour women like Portia who inspire Pacific girls to dream big, embrace their whole selves, and lead. Her story proves that being proud of who we are can shine brightly on the global stage.