March [intransitive verb]: to walk somewhere quickly and in a determined way, often because you are angry. March could not be just another month. As remarkable as the month the current pandemic began to be a global concern, March is the month to make noise about another type of pandemic: gender-based violence. Why a specific month, if we can advocate ending violence all year round? you would ask. Yes, you’re right. We can act every day to support victims and survivors, we can celebrate the so-forgotten women’s achievements in science, politics, arts, etc. every day, we can protest against female genital mutilation every day; we stand against spiking every day; we can donate to end stigma and period poverty every day; we can promote equal salary every day and we can remember those promising women whose dreams were severely cut off due to violence every day. However, in order to raise awareness on how to achieve gender equality and celebrate together the progress we have made, the United Nations set a specific day: the 8th of March.
Origins: a brief overview on what motivated women to declare IWD.
Since the early 1990s, when women were organizing rallies and meetings to demand their right to vote and better working conditions in the United States, the Socialist Party of America proclaimed the first National Woman’s Day. Following their example, Clara Zetkin, an activist and communist leader in Germany proposed the creation of an International Women’s Day (IWD) during the International Conference of Working Women to press governments for their claims. All of the attendees (more than 100 from 17 countries) agreed to her proposal with no hesitation. IWD was first celebrated on 19 March 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland with millions marching to end gender discrimination. Following international discussions in 1914, it was agreed March 8th would be marked as International Women’s Day. Strikingly (or not), it took the United Nations 61 years to officially recognize International Women’s Day and 1975 was declared as the International Women’s Year at a conference held in Mexico City.
Throughout the years, demands have changed and while in 2022 women vote freely almost globally (Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Zanzibar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have not officially recognice female voters)6 , labour, reproduction and sexual rights are commonly overlooked in most countries agendas. This year’s IWD campaign theme is #BreakTheBias and “Gender Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” which together call out stereotyping, gender bias, and discrimination.
Today’s fight around the globe
IWD is celebrated differently across the world. The United States named March as the Women’s History Month to commemorate the vital role of women in their national history and companies organise activities such as hackathons, panel discussions, mentoring activities and expositions to promote female role models. In Europe, activists and feminist groups organise rallies and online campaigns to support victims of sexual violence, reduce the gender gap and demand minorities’ rights. In Asia, women take to the streets and social media to fight for ending domestic violence and promote women’s representation in decision-making. In Africa, community leaders campaign for safer and accessible period products and sexual rights. In Latin America, massive protests take place to remember the victims of femicide and support safe abortion. Even though campaigners support different causes, we all want our voice to be heard: stop gender inequality now.
Witnessing the protests: my experience
The first time I attended a massive IWD rally was in Barcelona, 2020 —days before the Spanish authorities called for a national COVID lockdown. I used to live near the main streets of the second biggest city in Spain and I could feel how the air was filled with anger towards injustice.
Back then, I didn’t have any specific reason to attend but to show sorority and support to victims. I didn’t know the origin of International Women’s Day or why it was celebrated on the 8th of March. I only knew more than 10 women were killed EVERY DAY in my home country: Mexico. In comparison, in the UK one woman is killed by men every three days. It hurt reading on the news another missing woman. Those numbers were only estimations and many femicides are underreported since women deaths in healthcare settings as a result of gender-based violence do not often count as femicide and scarce police investigations hide the real numbers.
Protest signs read: "We are the shout for those who lost their voice", "I decide when, how and with whom I have sex", "In Mexico, 10 women are killed everyday", "the police do not protect us, our female friends do" and "there is no virus worse than the Patriarchy"
It was estimated that more than 50,000 people protested in Barcelona. Women marched, shouted, cried and sang in unison the famous Chilean feminist anthem: El Violador Eres Tú (The Rapist Is You). You, policeman; you, judge; you, state; you, president; you, ordinary person. The Rapist is you. I could feel goosebumps and the tears coming out as soon as I heard:
“Patriarchy is a judge who judges us for being born
and our punishment is the violence you don’t see.
It’s femicide, impunity for my murderer,
it’s disappearance, it’s rape.
And it wasn’t my fault, where I was, or how I dressed.
The rapist is you, the rapist is you.
It’s the police, the judges, the state, the president.
The oppressive state is a macho rapist.”
I echoed the anthem. With my rapist next to me. He too sang the song. He was there as my best friend and to protect me in case there were clashes. Never I thought he was going to commit a crime against me a year later. The rapist is you, my most trusted person.
Today, I happened to be in Mexico City ready to protest for safer streets, safer households, and safer spaces where women can walk and live in freedom. A more inclusive world where women are not invisible and call for institutions to end corruption for victims to get justice. And I protest for the world not to forget Ingrid, Martha, Liz, Monica, Diana (and almost any female name you could think of) who were murdered just because they were women.
WE DEMAND A SAFER WORLD
References
Cambridge English Dictionary. (n.d.). MARCH | meaning. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/march
International Women’s Day 2022: History, marches and celebrations. (2022, March 4). BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60610678
About International Women’s Day. (2021). UN Women Australia. https://unwomen.org.au/get-involved/international-womens-day/about/#:~:text=The%20very%20first%20International%20Women’s,on%20this%20day%20ever%20since.
History of International Women’s Day. (2020, November 19). International Women’s Day. https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Activity/15586/The-history-of-IWD
Varela, N. (2019). Feminismo para principiantes. Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial.
Countries Where Women Cant Vote 2022. (2022). World Population Review. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-where-women-cant-vote
IWD 2022 campaign theme: #BreakTheBias. (2022). International Women’s Day. https://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme
International Women’s Day 2022: “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” (2021, December 3). UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/announcement/2021/12/international-womens-day-2022-gender-equality-today-for-a-sustainable-tomorrow
March is Women’s History Month. (n.d.). Women’s History Month. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.womenshistorymonth.gov/
LaPlante, A. (2021, May 24). Bridging the STEM divide: AI hackathon helps young women excel in computer science. Microsoft News. https://news.microsoft.com/europe/features/bridging-the-stem-divide-ai-hackathon-helps-young-women-excel-in-computer-science/
Amazon staff. (2021, March 5). How is Amazon celebrating International Women’s Day 2021? Amazon News. https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/news/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/how-is-amazon-celebrating-international-womens-day-2021
Asia-Pacific Commemoration of International Women’s Day 2021: Interactive Dialogue on “Women in leadership: Achieving future equality in a COVID-19 world". (2021, March 8). United Nations ESCAP. https://www.unescap.org/events/2021/asia-pacific-commemoration-international-womens-day-2021-interactive-dialogue-women#
Consulta interactiva de datos. (2021). INEGI . https://www.inegi.org.mx/sistemas/olap/consulta/general_ver4/MDXQueryDatos.asp?proy=
Broom, D. (2020, November 25). This is how many women are killed by a partner or family member each year. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/violence-against-women-femicide-census/
Gomez, M. v., & Quesada, J. D. (2020, March 9). El feminismo exhibe su músculo movilizador pese al temor al coronavirus. El País. https://elpais.com/sociedad/dia-de-la-mujer/2020-03-08/el-feminismo-exhibe-su-musculo-movilizador-pese-al-temor-al-coronavirus.html
Hinsliff, G. (2020, February 3). ‘The rapist is you!’: why a Chilean protest chant is being sung around the world. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/03/the-rapist-is-you-chilean-protest-song-chanted-around-the-world-un-iolador-en-tu-camino
Francis, A. (2019, December 17). ‘The rapist is you’: why a viral Latin American feminist anthem spread around the world. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-rapist-is-you-why-a-viral-latin-american-feminist-anthem-spread-around-the-world-128488
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