About 40,000 people, according to the Guardia Urbana police, have filled the centre of Barcelona this Wednesday evening for the March 8th demonstration, on the occasion of International Women's Day, to once again assert the feminist struggle. Thousands of demonstrators gathered around 6pm in Plaça Universitat and Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes with placards and messages in favour of the liberty of women and against the patriarchal and capitalist system. The Assemblea 8-M, organizer of the rally, led the march alongside feminist and LGBTI groups, and with trade unions and political parties also present. This year, at the forefront of the protest, are people with functional diversity. The atmosphere is, as ever, festive and at the same time politically assertive, with slogans recalling those of other years such as "Visca, visca, visca, la lluita feminista" - long live the feminist struggle, "Si ens toquen a una ens toques a totes" - if they touch one of us, they touch all of us, and “La nit és nostra, cap agressió sense resposta" - the night is ours, no aggression without a response.
🟣The best images from the March 8th demonstrations in Barcelona for International Women's Day 2023
A demand for "decent lives" for all women
The organizers on this March 8th put special emphasis on the diversity of feminisms and the importance of intersectionality, that is to say, that the fight is not directed only against male violence, but also against LGTBIphobia, racism or ableism, in order to guarantee "decent lives" for all women. Thus, in matters of immigration, feminist groups are calling for the repeal of Spain's immigration law, the closure of the Foreigners' Internment Centres (CIE) and the regularization of all migrants in the territory. In fact, during the demonstration, slogans such as "the struggle will be anti-racist or it won't be anything" were chanted, as well as reminders that "it is not a day of celebration, it is a day of struggle and protest". In the context of the controversy over the 'only yes means yes' law, they claim the need for consent to be at the centre of the law to "guarantee sexual freedom", and, on the other hand, the marchers have celebrated the passing of Spain's Trans Law, despite the fact that it is an issue that brings different sectors of feminism into confrontation. In this regard, the organizers make it clear that "trans women are women" and that "feminism is not transphobia" and denounce the increase in hate speech against trans people.
Other demands included the right to decide about one's own body, the self-determination of bodies and the right to exist outside the "cishetero-norm". They also stand up for women with physical, intellectual or sensory functional diversity and their rights to "exercise control over their lives". "We must make it visible that we are diverse, we are all diverse. "We are the disabled and the neurodivergent, we are holding hands to overthrow the patriarchy", they exclaimed. Finally, part of today's demands have been the improvement of women's working conditions and pensions, quality public education, the right to decent housing and climate justice.
The demonstration held this early evening has been the largest of International Women's Day in Barcelona, but not the only one, given that this morning the Students' Union of the Catalan Countries (SEPC) organized another rally under the slogan "We are not hysterical, we are historical", in which around 3,300 people took part, many of whom also took part in the strike called for the day. As well, on the eve of International Women's Day, the classic non-mixed night time march took place, with around 2,000 people responding to the call from the collective 'Se va a armar la gorda' (which translates as something like 'This one will raise the revolution').