Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets around the world to mark International Women’s Day, focusing on issues such as the US-Israeli war on Iran and gender-based violence.
In Spain, thousands of women marched in major cities to call for an end to the war, with Spain’s second deputy prime minister, Yolanda Diaz, saying, “It is within our power to stop the war, to stop the barbarity, and to win rights.”
Authorities in Spain confirmed that the marches were largely peaceful, with Diaz adding, “We proclaim ourselves in defence of peace, in defence of the Iranian people, in defence of Iranian women.”
Regional Protests
In France, 73-year-old rape survivor Gisele Pelicot led a march calling for an end to sexual violence, telling a crowd in Paris, “We won’t give up.”
Across the Atlantic, activists gathered at Zorro Ranch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is alleged to have sexually abused and trafficked underage girls and young women.
Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March, said, “The years-long cover-up and protection of Jeffrey Epstein’s allies and co-conspirators exposed a culture of impunity that tells survivors their pain is negotiable when powerful men are involved.”
Global Solidarity
In New York, protesters gathered outside Trump Tower for a “Believe Survivors” demonstration after the publication of FBI documents describing interviews with a woman who alleged President Donald Trump sexually assaulted her when she was a minor.
In Puyo, an Amazonian town in Ecuador, members of various Indigenous groups gathered to raise their voices about environmental degradation and oil and gas expansion, with Ruth Penafiel, 59, from the Kichwa community, saying, “We want to live in a healthy environment and in harmony with the forest, so we are asking for respect and that public policies for nature are put in place.”
International Women’s Day, officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977, marks its 115th anniversary this year, with protests and celebrations taking place in countries including Brazil, Pakistan, Turkiye, China, Russia, and Cambodia.
Source: Al Jazeera
