Feminism again fills the streets of Barcelona in rally marked by anti-war messages
Thousands of women - 15,000 people, according to the Barcelona city police, and most were women - have done it again. They have once again filled the streets of Barcelona on the occasion of International Women's Day to stand up to the patriarchy and demand to live with the same rights and freedoms as men. For more than two hours, the protesters proclaimed feminist slogans, paraded hundreds of different banners and signs and sang, danced and beat rhythms. The march began in Plaça Universitat and ended at the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, mixing a festive atmosphere with a range of political and social demands - and especially, this 2022, a rejection of war and of the violence unleashed against Ukraine.
Protesters raise their hands to form the feminist symbol as they march.
Photo: Sergi Alcazar
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Two women enjoying their protest as the rally moves forward near Plaça Universitat.
As always, the March 8th rally had a strong element of celebration. As the manifesto for the march read, in part: "We declare ourselves communities of feminist action and resistance and celebrate our alliances, above our differences, for life, for the community, for the possibility of continuing to exist with dignity. Together, diverse and rebellious we are unstoppable."
Photo: Sergi Alcazar
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There were many chants, from the "The night is ours, no aggression unanswered", "Long live the feminist struggle", "No means no" and "The future will be feminist or it will not be". The demonstration also expressed a clear anti-racist and internationalist voice. Protesters made anti-war proclamations, in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and also railed against the Spanish law on foreigners.
Photo: Sergi Alcazar
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The 15,000-strong march passes the intersection of Gran Via and Passeig de Gràcia.
Marching as one, but there has been division within the feminist movement between supporters and opponents of the regulation of prostitution. The manifesto for the march noted that the Spansih government's proposed law on sexual freedom, "despite the positive steps taken", could signify a setback and, in fact, criminalization for sex workers.
The claim for the right to abortion to be a fundamental right, and that the institutions should fully protect female victims of gender-based violence without the obligation to file a complaint, were other demands made in Barcelona on this 8th March.
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"We are mothers, daughters, grandmothers, women," reads the poster a woman holds at the rally.
"We feminists are here against all precariousness, borders and violences," was the title of the manifesto, read at the end of the march. It called for a decolonial and anti-racist feminism, and called on all women to shake up those who are privileged, also demanding the regularization of migrants.
Photo: Sergi Alcazar
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Thousands of International Women's Day marchers in Barcelona's Plaça Tetuan. The placard calls for "Networks of Cities against the Patriarchy."
Photo: Sergi Alcazar.
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The head of the march, and the truck which accompanied it, advances towards the final rallying point, at Barcelona's Arc de Triomf.
The organizers' manifesto, which was read at the end of the demonstration in an event led by the actress Adriana Fuertes, sent a message of support to all feminists around the world "who say no to wars". Two Ukrainian women resident in Barcelona took to the stage and likened Ukraine today to a woman who is being raped: "A Russian aggressor is raping her, he is killing her in front of everyone. It is not only genocide, it's feminicide." Writer Bel Olid also read a specific anti-war manifesto, in which she called for peace education and not to "militarize our minds".
Photo: Sergi Alcazar
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After the speeches at the Arc de Triomf, the marchers dispersed.
