International Women’s Day 2020 Around the World

March 9, 2020 | revcom.us

From Mexico City to Kuala Lumpur, from Santiago to Madrid, hundreds of thousands of women in cities across the globe rallied and marched on March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD), demanding equality and an end to degradation, brutality, and femicide (the killing of a woman because of her gender). On this page are a few of the many IWD actions around the world.

Chile

In the capital city, Santiago,150,000 people took to the streets. Police tried unsuccessfully to disperse demonstrators with tear gas. Another 35,000 demonstrated in other parts of Chile. Outside the Presidential Palace in Santiago, women performed the anthem “A Rapist in Your Path,” which originated in Chile in November and has spread across the world.

Peru

Women in Peru perform “El Violador Eres Tú [The Rapist Is You]” as part of the international struggle against the oppression of women. Photo: AP

Mexico

30,000 people gathered at the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City, to march to the Zócalo (the main square). Earlier, graffiti artists at the Zócalo painted the first names of every woman murdered in Mexico since 2016. Photo: AP

France

During the International Women's Day march in Paris, women hold placards with the names of women killed by their husbands. Photo: AP

Iraq

Women protested in Baghdad. A young woman who took part said, “I would like to extend a message to women all over the globe, on International Women's Day, that we are power, we represent half of society and we are a fundamental part of society. We are not less important than men.” (quoted in the Guardian.)

Greece-Turkey border

Women asylum seekers protest to demand that Greece open the gate and allow them and other refugees in. Thousands of Syrians forced to flee their homes because of a reactionary war have been stranded under horrible conditions because the European Union has closed the doors to them.

Kyrgyzstan

Dozens of women protesters in Bishkek were arrested by police after they were attacked by masked men who tore up their signs. Photo: AP

Pakistan

Women taking part in an International Women's Day rally in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were attacked by hardline Islamist groups holding a counterprotest, who threw rocks, chunks of mud and even their shoes at the women's day demonstrators. Conservative lawyers had gone to the courts to try to have the rallies shut down in 3 cities. And one opposition leader warned the women not to chant “my body, my choice,” saying they will come out into the streets, and “we will destroy you.” Above: the march in Lahore, Pakistan. Photo: AP.