International Women's Day | Juliet

International Women's Day takes place on 8 March, just before the powerfully reimagined version of Romeo and Juliet arrives.

But how would Juliet's choices and life have been different if she grew up with gender equality?

Our brilliant literary coordinator Rosie shares her thoughts. 

When it comes to a modern Juliet, we’ve seen an 'angelic' incarnation of the character (played by a young Claire Danes) in Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film, and a strong independent lead (minus Romeo) in the recent smash hit musical '& Juliet'… but what sort of teenage girl would she be in 2025? 

What we do know about Juliet is that she is brave, strong-willed and a loving, caring young woman. She’s widely considered to be a proto-feminist character and one of Shakespeare’s best. She defies her father and refuses to marry Paris to pursue Romeo instead, and in doing so challenges the patriarchal structures of her time. 

A modern-day Juliet would massively benefit from all the progress made by the gender equality movement - we imagine that she would be a proud, outspoken feminist who would be free to love whoever she chooses (and not have to die for it) and stand up for the rights of ALL women. And maybe she would spend hours dancing to Taylor Swift on TikTok instead of at the Capulet ball…

Certainly, if Juliet lived in fair Verona today, she thankfully also wouldn’t have been made to get married at 14! Sadly today however it’s still the case in many countries that underage girls are forced into marriage, but there are some fantastic charities and organisations like Girls Not Brides and Vow for Girls who campaign against this and fight for positive change.

By Rosie Mullaney, Literary Coordinator at Bristol Old Vic