Thousands worldwide assembled to commemorate International Women’s Day with Protest
New Delhi, INDIA (REUTERS/DT) – Tens of thousands of women marched in demonstrations across Spain on Friday to protest against gender inequality and to mark International Women’s Day.
To mark the occasion, Spain’s Equality Minister Ana Redondo announced on Friday the government would revive a human trafficking law which was proposed last year but was not passed because of July’s general election.
The new legislation will mean that, among other things, victims will not be obliged to make an official report which can sometimes deter them from making claims about alleged traffickers.
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In Madrid, the Plaza Cibeles fountain was turned purple with lights to mark the colour of the feminist movement while protesters wearing white masks and disguises took to the streets.
“We women, we haven’t been heard for a long time and we are so tired of not having the same benefits and having to struggle to the basic needs,” Natalia Hofmann, 34, a psychologist, said in an interview in Barcelona.
Protests were held by thousands of feminist groups in 40 Spanish cities.
On the other hand, in India, women participating in the farmer protests gathered at the Shambhu border on Women’s Day. These women are actively involved in the ongoing farmer demonstrations along the interstate borders of Punjab and Haryana, as well as within Punjab itself. Their aim on International Women’s Day was to advocate for various demands, including debt relief and the legal assurance of minimum support prices for all crops based on the C2+50% formula.
In significant numbers, they assembled at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders in response to the call from the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (a non-political farmer forum) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. Additionally, they gathered at Barnala’s grain market following the invitation from BKU (Ekta Ugrahan).
The day’s events were coordinated at all three locations. Despite facing multiple barricades erected by the Haryana Police since February 13 to impede the farmers’ progress towards Delhi, women from various villages in Haryana also joined the protests at the Shambhu border.
Sukhwinder Kaur and Samita Kaur, who led the Women’s Day demonstrations, reminded the BJP of its decade-old pledge made during the 2014 elections to provide farmers with MSP based on the Swaminathan formula.
They urged the government to clear the passage to Delhi. Harinder Kaur Bindu, representing the women’s wing of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), accused both the central and Haryana governments of suppressing the farmers to thwart the Delhi march.