Rallies held across Brazil on International Women’s Day

Protests have marked International Women’s Day today across at least 45 Brazilian cities, including 17 capitals. The World March of Women rallies advocate the end of violence, respect for civil, reproductive, and sexual rights.

Topics addressed in the demonstration include immigrant and refugee women, representation in politics, and the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. Rio city councilor Marielle Franco, whose assassination is now a year old and still unsolved, will be honored later today.

An ongoing fight

Also highlighted are the fight for democracy, the rights of indigenous peoples and a non-sexist education—principles advocated last month by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) representative Nadine Gasman.

Recent reports from a number of sources show that, even though the issues are the same as what they were a year ago, discussing them is still necessary. Every minute, nine Brazilian women fall victims of a physical attack, according to a study conducted last year by the website Violência contra as Mulheres, of the Patrícia Galvão Institute.

Striving for economic justice is a motivation of a great number of women attending the protests. According to a document released yesterday (Mar. 7) By the International Labor Organization, the difference can be seen in the paycheck. Women are reported to receive a salary 20 percent lower than that of men.

The World Bank estimated that gender inequality reaching the workplace costs $160 trillion worldwide. The amount is linked to the significant participation of women in the labor market, as women account for at least 40 percent of the work force in 80 countries, as per figures from the Pew Research Center.

Raising awareness

Members of the World March of Women will hold lectures, workshops and meetings on relevant topics both today and over the course of the year.