New Delhi- In a resounding symphony of sea-salted chants and defiant footsteps echoing from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, fisherwomen across India's vast coastlines have fused their voices with sisters in over 70 countries worldwide to herald the dawn of the first-ever International Fisherwomen’s Day (IFWD) on November 5.

What began as a singular marker on the calendar has unfurled into a two-day torrent of unyielding celebration and confrontation, now cresting into November 6 with rallies that pulse through fishing hamlets and urban harbors alike. This is no mere commemoration; it is a seismic assertion of women's unheralded rights, their ironclad leadership, and the profound, often invisible knowledge they wield in nurturing global fisheries while standing as bulwarks against the relentless erosion of the world's coasts.

As the sun dips low over Kerala’s backwaters and rises again on Odisha’s shores, these women, hands calloused from nets and lines, eyes sharp from scanning horizons, are rewriting the script of survival, demanding not charity, but sovereignty over the waters that have sustained their lineages for generations.

From 5th November, the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP) launches a five-week global campaign connecting three key dates: International Fisherwomen’s Day (5 Nov), World Fisher Peoples’ Day (21 Nov), and International Human Rights Day (10 Dec). India, the birthplace of both the WFFP and World Fishers’ Day on 21 November—now observed globally as World Fisher People’s/Fisheries Day—remains integral to this movement. Each week carries a theme that strengthens movement unity: Gender Rights and Freedom from Violence; Asserting Fisher Identity; Community and Customary Rights; Protect Waters, Protect Life; and Fisher Rights as Human Rights. The first week celebrates IFWD, recognising fisherwomen’s central role in sustaining fisheries, coasts, and communities.

From Gujarat to West Bengal, fisherwomen’s unions and community groups come together in rallies, marches, and cultural actions. Their call is clear: governments, including the Prime Minister of India, and global institutions such as the United Nations, must formally recognise 5 November as International Fisherwomen’s Day—a political demand long rooted in decades of organising and resistance to affirm their sovereignty. The WFFP, representing fisher peoples in more than 70 countries, recognises the day, affirming fisherwomen as central political actors in the global fisheries movement. Across India, local federations echo this recognition through creative public actions, asserting that fisherwomen are not “beneficiaries” but fisherpeople and leaders defending the commons.

In Thiruvananthapuram, women led a vehicle rally through the coastal belt, while in Maharashtra—from Khadanda to Mumbai—over 300 fisherwomen rallied against livelihood insecurity and erosion of traditional rights. In Karnataka, fisherwomen in Ankola and Karwar protested the JSW Port expansion, declaring that the coast is their livelihood and identity.

In Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, beaches turned into spaces of resistance—the Karaikal Fisherwomen Federation mobilised ten villages, Nagore Sangam members performed art by the sea, and Sangam women in Kottai Medu, Mayiladuthurai, drew kolam art as a symbol of defiance. In Thiruvarur, the Tamil Nadu Women Fishworkers Union hosted programmes bringing together coastal women to assert their rights and strengthen solidarity.

In Gujarat’s Kodinar village, fisherwomen gathered under the Parivartan Trust, Surat, beginning the day with a tribute to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. They demanded long-denied subsidies, support during the fishing ban, and social security for women in ancillary work like prawn cleaning, calling for curbs on large trawlers, action on plastic waste, and fair market prices.

In Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, the Traditional Fish Workers’ Union holds a public meeting highlighting fisherwomen’s exclusion from licensing, credit, and policymaking, demanding structural change, not token inclusion. On Jambudwip island near Frazerganj, West Bengal, women who live entirely by the sea join the global action, foregrounding their long struggle for livelihood and recognition as workers. In Goa, fisherwomen at Mapusa Market pause trading to mark the day, declaring themselves organisers and leaders of resistance.

International solidarity pours in from almost every continent. Shankar Mahadevan, award-winning musician, recognises fisherwomen’s essential role in sustaining coastal economies. Makoma Lekalakala, an environmental justice leader from South Africa, links their struggle to global fights for ecological and gender justice. Melanie Brown, an indigenous fisher from Alaska and WFFP Coordinating Committee member, draws parallels between fisherwomen across the North and global South. Dr. Vandana Shiva, founder of Navdanya, underscores fisherwomen’s place at the heart of ecological sustainability and food sovereignty.

Across regions—from Sri Lanka to the Philippines, from Senegal to Chile and Colombia in the Americas and the Caribbean—fisherwomen lead marches and community gatherings, asking poignant questions: Who controls the land, the water, and the fisheries? Why does women’s labour remain invisible in the global economy?

The WFFP writes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, acknowledging fisherwomen’s demands and reaffirming solidarity with their call for justice. It emphasises that fisherwomen are not passive participants but political actors defending coastal commons against state neglect and corporate capture.

At the heart of International Fisherwomen’s Day (IFWD) lies a global charter of demands: equal representation in coastal, ocean, and fisheries governance; legal and statistical recognition as full rights-holders, protection of territorial and marine access, social protection and access to credit, an end to destructive industrial aquaculture, and recognition of traditional knowledge and women’s ecological stewardship. These are their birth right.