On International Women’s Day, women gathered in the streets of some the largest cities in the world to protest against gender violence, exploitation, and inequality.
The mothers of murdered girls were leaders of the march in Mexico City.
Although many protests were peaceful, others were full of tension and security forces arrested some demonstrators at a Kyrgyzstan rally and reportedly, they used tear gas to stop a demonstration of thousands of women in Turkey.
According to Arlene Brosas, representative of a Filipino advocacy group, women are exploited and taken advantage of.
The protestors there emphasized higher pay and job security and demanded from their President to respect women and their rights.
Turkish Police Uses Tear Gas to Disperse the Crowd
The police in Turkey used tear gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators who were defying the government ban and were trying to march along the main pedestrian street.
The authorities in Turkey declared the Istiklal Street off-limits and said that the planned march was not authorized.
Thousands of the demonstrators, mostly women, gathered near this street and tried to breach police barricades to reach it.
According to one news website, the police also allegedly fired blanks to disperse the protestors.
How Did the Protests Go in Other Cities?
In Pakistan, women rallied in the city streets, despite the court petitions seeking to cease these protests. The opposition was stirred partly by a controversy concerning a slogan used in the march last year: ‘my body, my choice’.
Despite the conservative groups trying to stop the marches by force, the officials in Pakistan pledged to protect the protestors.
These rallies are notable in a conservative country where the women don’t feel safe in public places due to open harassment.
In Mexico, tens of thousands of women gathered in the capital city to protest femicides and impunity for the killers.
Unfortunately, the country has witnessed several protests by women who vandalized monuments and metro stations as an expression of their anger in one of the most dangerous countries to be a woman in the world.
Mexico & the Killing of Women
Sadly, averagely speaking, more than 10 women are killed every day in Mexico, often by their male partners.
Several mothers of slain girls and women were leaders at this year’s march and were supported by the rest of the crowd who cheered them and chanted ‘you’re not alone!’
The leaders were followed by students, mothers, homemakers, and small children wearing purple bandanas, shirts, and hats.
The biggest demonstration happened in Chile where people gathered on the streets of the capital and danced to music and strongly demanded gender equality and end to violence towards women.
Some were chanting ‘they kill us, they rape us, and nobody does anything’.
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