Emma Watson and David Beckham lead celebrities marking International Women's Day

The day is celebrated around the world every year on 8 March

International Women’s Day is about championing female empowerment and celebrating the social, economic and political achievements of women around the world.

Each year, the day prompts people to reflect on everything from gender equality and women’s rights to who their female role models might be. Naturally, a lot of these contemplations take place on social media, with celebrities like Emma Watson and Miley Cyrus leading the way.

“Whether you’re marching, dancing, rising, resisting, protesting, striking, uniting or celebrating, wishing you all a wonderful #internationalwomensday!”

Watson wrote on Instagram alongside a photograph of herself posing with one arm in the air wearing a T-shirt with the word: “Marching” emblazoned across it.

In a subsequent post, the 28-year-old actor and United Nations ambassador pointed her 50 million followers towards the charity Rape Crisis England & Wales, which supports sexual violence survivors.

Posing in a T-shirt with the words “my body, my choice” on it, Watson wrote: “With the awareness generated by #metoo, there is an increased demand for support services as more people are emboldened to name what happened to them.

“Rape Crisis Centres offer much-needed support to people who have been assaulted across England and Wales (@rapecrisisew), but demand way outstrips supply.”

Watson noted that in March 2018, there were 6,355 survivors on Rape Crisis waiting lists.

“This means that if a survivor calls to look for support they may be turned away,” she added.

Miley Cyrus also marked IWD on social media by posting a series of photographs of herself on Instagram with some of her “favourite bad a** bitches”, who include Jane Fonda, Beyonce, Joan Jett, Cyndi Lauper and Ariana Grande.

Elsewhere, philanthropist and acid attack survivor Katie Piper posted a photograph of herself with her surgeon, thanking him for restoring her confidence and helping her and other women to rebuild their lives after acid attacks.

Actor and activist Jameela Jamil, meanwhile, wished her Twitter followers a happy International Women’s Day by reminding them to “protect [themselves] and one another”.

See our pick of the best International Women’s Day social media posts so far below.

David Beckham

Emma Watson

Miley Cyrus

Katie Piper

Jameela Jamil

David Lammy

Jeremy Corbyn