This International Women’s Day is poised on the precipice of what could be major political change in Scotland.

Despite the advancements in gender equality of the last century or so, this is a challenging time to be a young woman. Their rights are increasingly under threat by a growing far-right movement, and the rise of extreme misogyny both on- and offline is jeopardising their safety.

Last year, The Young Women’s Movement published its seventh Status of Young Women in Scotland report, this time focusing on how young women experience and access their human rights. The findings were stark: only 1 in 2 trust politicians and decision-makers to uphold their rights; 58% feel they have no say in decisions about how Scotland is run.

They told us that safety is one of their main concerns – with public transport topping the list of where they feel most unsafe in their daily lives – and that they fear a regression in their rights due to political and societal changes. We also found that 1 in 4 young women in Scotland feel they haven’t had the same educational and employment opportunities as their male peers; and research by COSLA found that the same proportion of young women in Scotland have experienced online abuse. These issues disproportionately affect young women who are also marginalised in other ways.

One young woman told us: ‘It’s a scary time to be a young woman with the rise in misogyny, violence and intolerance. Coupled with being a queer woman, it’s frightening. The rise of the far-right is a threat to us all, and Scotland is not immune to radicalisation as the past couple of years have evidently shown us.’

With an election just months away, and the polls showing that the makeup of the Scottish Parliament could look very different afterwards, these rights feel ever more precarious. The 2026 Scottish election is a vital moment to hold political parties accountable to their duty to advance young women’s rights and gender equality. 

The Young Women’s Movement is Scotland’s national charity for young women and girls’ leadership and rights. This year, we’re working with a group of young women from across Scotland on Young Women Demand – a campaign to encourage young women to exercise their voting rights at this year’s election and hold Scotland’s political parties to account. Together, we’ll be scrutinising the parties’ manifestos against our own manifesto – a list of demands which has come directly from young women, informed by our extensive research and work with young women and girls across Scotland.

Young women have told us loud and clear what they need in 2026. The Young Women Demand manifesto makes six policy demands of the new Scottish Government – whichever MSPs make up its ranks. It calls for the introduction of a Human Rights Bill for Scotland to better protect their rights; funding for women’s and youth groups to tackle violence against young women and girls; robust regulation of digital technologies to address online violence; educational interventions to address misogyny amongst young men and boys; improvements in healthcare with a focus on mental, sexual and reproductive health; and equal opportunities for young women and girls within politics, democracy and decision-making processes.

Young women are the experts in their own lives. We’re calling on political parties and candidates to commit to meaningfully listening to young women and girls’ concerns and experiences, and using these to create a fairer, safer Scotland for them.

This International Women’s Day, The Young Women’s Movement is marching through the streets of Edinburgh alongside our community. Members of the Young Women Demand campaign group will speak to the crowd gathered outside Scottish Parliament. And together, we’ll be demanding one thing: change.