From Tokyo to Paris, from Buenos Aires to Rome, feminist marches have gone around the world on International Women's Day, marked by the defense of rights in the face of the threat of the ultraconservative wave that is shaking some countries, and the memory to women victims of war conflicts.
In Italy, this year had to be different.
In the country, a certain feminist consciousness that had been absent in recent decades had awakened.
The story of Giulia Cecchettin, a student from the north of the country who was murdered at the hands of her ex-partner last November, had brought more people to the streets than ever to protest.
In addition, the film
C'è ancora un domani
, a fabulous comedy-drama about female emancipation in 1946 - directed and starring Paola Cortellesi - became the most viewed film in the history of the country.
With these previous elements, more people were expected than those who attended the demonstrations and the general strike called throughout Italy by the
Non una di meno
collective (Not one less, in Spanish) this Friday.
And, above all, the presence of politicians and institutional representatives was expected, who have only attended the call of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinal Palace.
Even so, thousands of people participated in the Rome march that traveled the path that separates the Circo Massimo from the Trastevere neighborhood, on the other side of the Tiber River.
In Paris more than 10,000 people, mostly women, have marched between Place Gambetta and Place de la Bastille, and thousands more in other French cities.
It has been a predominantly festive and celebratory day for the recognition, in the Constitution, of the freedom to abort, an undoubted victory for the feminist movement.
Among other demands, there have been equal pay.
In the capital there have been moments of tension between pro-Israeli protesters, who denounce Hamas violations on October 7 and who criticize a part of the feminist left for ignoring them, and pro-Palestinians who denounce the bombings and the Israeli attack on Gaza.
“Free the hostages,” they chanted on one side;
“Palestine will win,” they said of the other, according to the newspaper
Le Monde
.
In recent years, the 8M event has had less drawing power than in Spain, and less political relevance.
London has decided to extend the celebration of International Women's Day throughout the month of March, although it has had special gestures for the 8th: the London Eye, the iconic Ferris wheel on the banks of the Thames, has been completely illuminated with the purple.
Exhibitions, festivals, tributes, historical tours, cinema or theater: the British capital will be the scene of multiple events with women as the protagonist.
The Royal Academy of Arts inaugurates an exhibition with the work of Angelica Kauffman, one of the founders of the institution, in the 18th century, and whose portraits were mainly of female characters of the time.
The theme of this year's celebrations is #InspireInclusion, and the celebration of all female perspectives has been sought, even from the most marginalized or excluded communities.
For example, the Arab Women Artists Now (AWAN) festival will be held in different venues throughout London, with special emphasis on voices from Gaza and Sudan.
Goddess Day in China
More than 8,000 kilometers from London, in China, where there are no women among the 24 figures of the Politburo, the highest echelon of power in the Communist Party, March 8 is celebrated with its own characteristics.
Working women generally have afternoons off on this day; in some state companies, cakes are given away, or events are organized in which employees are invited to undergo different beauty treatments, such as manicures or pedicures.
There are no citizen protests or protest messages in the streets.
The closest thing you see in China to a banner these days are the messages that flood mobile phones, announcing the discounts offered by e-commerce platforms.
The giants of
online
consumerism , such as Alibaba or JD, have turned these celebrations into another ruse to encourage purchases, and have renamed it “Day of the Goddesses.”
No message is allowed that goes a comma out of the script dictated by Beijing, whose latest plan for women is aimed at reinforcing traditional values to promote low birth rates.
“It is necessary,” said its president, Xi Jinping, last November, “to guide women to play a unique role in promoting the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation and establishing good family customs.”
Machismo is present in China, starting with language.
In Mandarin, the term used to commemorate Women's Day,
fùnǚ jié
, refers to married women, reinforcing the stereotype of the role they play.
Many thirty-something women face enormous pressure not to fall into the category of
shèngnǚ
, “leftover women,” who are single and have decided to prioritize their personal fulfillment.
The gender gap has widened in the Asian giant in recent years, according to the Global Gender Gap index, prepared by the World Economic Forum, going from 63rd out of 115 countries in 2006 to 107th out of 146 in 2023. Only 4th, 2% of ministers are women, and only 24.9% of parliamentarians, according to the Hong Kong newspaper
South China Morning Post
.
In other Asian countries, marches have been more common, such as in Japan, South Korea or Thailand.
In the latter, dozens of women have taken to the streets of Bangkok, carrying large bottles as banners, to demand paid maternity leave of up to 180 days.
Feminist protest on a street in Tokyo, Japan, this Friday on the occasion of Women's Day. Issei Kato (REUTERS)
International Women's Day is not celebrated in an organized way in the United States and, as in previous years, there are no massive marches planned in large cities, beyond very symbolic rallies.
Therefore, the commemoration of this day passes without pain or glory or, even worse, with somewhat
naive
articles in some media, in which readers are encouraged to celebrate it by shopping in women's stores, reading books written by women or sending postcards to peers.
Demanding force in Latin America
On the other hand, south of the US border, protests against machismo are gaining strength.
In Argentina, women face an unprecedented decline in rights since the country regained democracy in 1983. Javier Milei campaigned with an anti-feminist speech that denied gender-based violence and the wage gap between men and women, although The data refutes this: in 2023 there were 322 femicides and the salary difference was 25%.
As president, he went from words to actions: he eliminated the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity and ordered a ban on inclusive language and the gender perspective throughout the public Administration.
This March 8, in line with its strategy of permanent provocation, the Government reported that the Women's Hall of the Casa Rosada was renamed the Hall of the Heroes.
The feminist movements of Argentina have called to demonstrate in the streets this Friday against Milei's adjustment policy and in defense of social achievements under threat, such as the law on voluntary interruption of pregnancy approved in 2020. Milei maintains that abortion is a “ murder aggravated by the bond” and must be penalized.
Her party has presented a project to repeal the current law and one of her deputies, Lilia Lemoine, also proposes making it legal for men to renounce paternity.
In Brazil, progressive parties and the feminist movement have called for traditional marches in several cities.
But it is also the day to remember that 10,655 Brazilian women have been victims of feminicide since it was classified as a crime nine years ago.
The president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the first lady, Janja, commemorated 8-M at a lunch with ministers and officials in a restaurant in Brasilia run by a woman.
“I always say, do not be content with what you have achieved,” he told them.
In Colombia, different groups organized rallies, parties and demonstrations in the main cities in the midst of a pessimistic atmosphere due to the increase in cases of gender violence with more than one feminicide a day in 2023, but with increasingly broad support in the society.
In Mexico, where more than 3,000 women are murdered every year, although only around 24% of that number are counted as femicides, the central mobilization will travel along Paseo de la Reforma Avenue and continue to the capital's Zócalo.
These marches brought together around 90,000 people the previous year, according to the city government.
A massive mobilization is expected in Chile, where the large participation of women in the 2018 march marked a turning point and opened a path of greater activism to demand access to safe and legal abortion, the eradication of sexist violence and wage gap, among other demands.
The 8-M is celebrated under the Government of Gabriel Boric, who presents himself as a feminist, and with leading women in the polls for the next presidential campaign: Evelyn Matthei, for the traditional right bloc, and Michelle Bachelet, for the left. .
With information from
Daniel Verdú
(Rome),
Marc Bassets
(Paris),
Rafa de Miguel
(London),
Guillermo Abril
and
Inma Bonet
(Beijing),
María Antonia Sánchez-Vallejo
(New York),
Mar Centenera
(Buenos Aires),
Naiara Galarraga
(São Paulo),
Juan Esteban Lewin
(Bogotá),
Elena San José
(Mexico City) and
Antonia Laborde
(Santiago de Chile).
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