Caracas, March 9 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Latin American women brought International Women's Day to life Sunday with a range of demonstrations, events and initiatives.

Venezuela celebrated the day by founding the National Union of Women, to contribute to and fortify the country's socialist ideals.

President Nicolas Maduro announced the new organization on his official Twitter account, saying: “No one should hide who they are.” He addressed a special Congress for Women, attended by 8,000 women from around the country.

In Ecuador, 100 graffiti artists from Colombia, Chile, Venezuela and Ecuador contributed to feminist murals to denounce abuses against women. It follows Friday’s announcement of an agreement between the government and the United Nations to improve the lives of women.

Women's rights in Chile took a step forward with the formation of the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality. During a ceremony marking the event, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said that 51.8 percent of the country’s population were women, and that in every 10 homes, four had a woman as the head of the family.

Elsewhere, the United Nations organized a march in New York through the streets of Manhattan to demand gender equality and respect for women's rights. The mobilization, which ended up in iconic Times Square, called attention to the discrimination that women continue to suffer around the world.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended the march, as well as Liberian activist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Leymah Roberta Gbowee and actress AnnaLynne McCord.