On International Women's Day, the European Commission has proposed news rules to fight violence against women and support victims, protesters marched on the streets in Sudan and Mexico, police clashed with a crowd gathering in Turkey, and flowers were being shared in Russia and Ukraine in the middle of an intensifying war.
(Clockwise from top left) An International Women's Day rally in Mexico, a protest in Sudan demanding the Sovereignty Council be dissolved, a woman in Ukraine with flowers to celebrate the day, and Turkish riot police clashed with women during a gathering. Photo: Ulises Ruiz / Ozan Kose / AFP, Emin Sansar / Mahmoud Hjaj / Anadolu Agency via AFP
Unveiling its plan on International Women's Day, the EU's executive proposed that, across the bloc's 27 countries, rape would be criminalised, based purely on the lack of consent and irrespective of whether force and threats were used.
It also proposed criminalising female genital mutilation, cyber-stalking, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyber-harassment and cyber-incitement to hatred or violence.
International Women's Day aims to recognise the achievements of women and highlight the campaign for gender equality.
According to European Commission data, one in three women in the EU has experienced some form of violence, and while the offences are already crimes in the vast majority of member states, there are gaps in national laws of some countries and legal frameworks differ.
"Too many women and girls suffer from rape, harassment or abuse. There is no place for this in modern Europe," European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova said.
Half of women in the EU have experienced sexual harassment and one in 20 report having been raped, the EU's executive said, while online violence is also rising, aimed in particular at women in public life such as journalists and politicians.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager during a plenary session of the European Parliament in eastern France on International Women's Rights Day, on 8 March, 2022. Photo: AFP / Frederick Florin
Half of young women experience gender-based cyber violence and about a third of women have faced sexual harassment at work.
"Unfortunately, the situation is not getting better fast enough and violence is soaring online. We are proposing for the first time an EU-wide law to combat violence against women. This will offer real tools for victims," Jourova said.
Under the proposed laws, victims would have the right to claim full compensation from offenders for damages, including the costs of healthcare, support services, lost income, physical and psychological harm.
They should also be able to obtain compensation in the course of criminal proceedings. EU countries would have to provide dedicated services, including rape crisis centres.
Victims at an increased risk of violence, including women fleeing armed conflict, would have to receive support from EU governments. There would have to be national help lines to support victims of violence against women and domestic violence operating seven days a week and free of charge.
Sudanese protesters face tear gas at Women's Day rally
People stage a protest demanding the Sovereignty Council, which is under military rule, be dissolved and the administration be handed over to the civilians as soon as possible in Khartoum, Sudan on March 8, 2022. Photo: Anadolu Agency via AFP / Mahmoud Hjaj
Sudanese protesters marching against military rule on International Women's Day were met with tear gas as they approached the presidential palace, a Reuters reporter said.
Women's rights groups had called the protest along with neighbourhood resistance committees that have been organising street demonstrations since the military took power in October.
The coup put an end to a power-sharing arrangement between civilians and the military that was struck after former President Omar al-Bashir who ruled for 30 years was toppled in a 2019 uprising in which women played a prominent role.
"Women's demands are the revolution's demands," said one protest banner. After the rally reached the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum, security forces chased protesters back into nearby streets.
Turkish police clash with crowd gathering to mark Women's Day
Women chant slogans against police barricades during a rally to mark the International Women's Day in Istanbul, on March 8, 2022. Photo: AFP / Ozan Kose
Turkish riot police clashed with women who gathered to celebrate International Women's Day in Istanbul, firing pepper spray as they sought to disperse a crowd of several thousand in the city centre.
The Istanbul Governor's office had said a day earlier it would not allow marches, protests or press statements to mark the event in the area around the city's central Taksim Square.
Amid a heavy police presence, women whistled, set off flares and chanted "we are not scared, we do not bow down" as they gathered nearby.
"You see the state of the country and all the bad things women have to face every day. I walk in fear in the street every day. I actually came here to walk without being afraid," said protester Dilara Akkaya.
Women gathered for international women's day in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: Resul Kaboglu / NurPhoto via AFP
Some tried to force their way through police barriers set up to block the area where they wanted to march; helmeted riot police then fired pepper spray and used their shields to push the protesters back. Reuters images show women pushing back against police shields.
"We are faced with the police even when we talk about a simple march. All we want to do is a simple march and press statement and we have to struggle with the police even for that," said Elif Turkmen, one of the protesters.
Similar scenes have been seen at such gatherings in previous years, with Turkish authorities outlawing protests and police cracking down on those who do gather.
Flowers for women in Russia, but not all want to celebrate
International Women's Day, a public holiday in Russia, has a long tradition in eastern European countries and across the former Soviet Union, where men often mark the day by buying flowers or gifts for women.
But some women were not in the mood to celebrate almost two weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and focused instead on calling for an end to the fighting.
Maria Tunkara, who blogs about feminism and racism, posted on Instagram, "the best gift for March 8 is that we and our loved ones will no longer have to suffer because of what is happening."
"Many of my readers have acquaintances and partners who are also now on a 'special operation'. On both sides. And it's scary. It shouldn't be like this. They should all be at home," she told her 108,000 followers on social media.
Daria, a psychologist from Moscow, said in an interview on social media she could not celebrate while women were being detained at anti-war rallies in Russia.
A volunteer gives flowers to a woman in the Muzeon Park on International Women's Day in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Mikhail Voskresenskiy / Sputnik via AFP
Since 24 February, police have detained more than 13,000 people in Russia-wide protests against the invasion of Ukraine, according to the independent protest monitoring group OVD-Info.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked female military personnel and healthcare workers in a video message, Tass news agency reported.
"A special word of respect to the women who are doing their duty, serving in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces," Putin said, as he praised them for their loyalty.
Volunteers handed out 100,000 flowers to Moscow's female residents, including bouquets of tulips to female drivers of buses and trams, the RIA Novosti agency reported.
Despite the war, Olga, 18, who lives in Russian-annexed Crimea, said she and her family would be celebrating tonight.
"I hope it will help to distract from the noise of the planes that are constantly flying over our village," she told Reuters in a message on social media.
Soldiers defending Ukraine's Odessa give flowers for Women's Day
Women receive flowers on the International Women's Day as people flock to train station to flee the city after Russia announced a temporary ceasefire in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 08, 2022. Photo: Emin Sansar / Anadolu Agency via AFP
Over in Ukraine's Odessa, while fearing a Russian attack is imminent, soldiers took time to buy friends and family flowers for Women's Day.
"I bought flowers, oddly enough, for my mother-in-law and my wife to congratulate them on March 8," said Yuriy, a reservist in Ukraine's Territorial Defence forces, speaking by a street stall selling pots of brightly coloured hyacinths and cyclamen, and bunches of tulips.
"War or no war, our women need to be protected, loved and respected."
Soldier Dmitriy clutched pink and yellow tulips which he had bought his fellow female soldiers.
"They also serve [in the army], they also protect our country, they also help us, they bring positivity... we must always remember them."
Flower vendor Alena tied a bouquet of blue and yellow tulips, the national colours of Ukraine.
"I made it for peace, for peace everywhere," she said.
Mexican women protest femicides as president warns against violence
Women take part in a demonstration to mark the International Women's Day in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 8, 2022. Photo: Ulises Ruiz / AFP
An International Women's Day rally in Mexico drew mass protests against violence, with marches in the capital passing by the presidential palace and national monuments that had been cordoned off with huge metal fences amid fears of unrest.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has been accused of not doing enough to stem the rise in femicides, urged calm while warning that the protests could turn violent.
Mexico City police said they seized Molotov cocktails, weapons such as bats and hammers and fireworks from protesters in the afternoon.
Local media also reported two protesters belonging to the so-called black bloc were injured after swinging at a glass bus stop, which came crashing down on top of them.
Mexican authorities had erected a protective metal barrier around the National Palace, the seat of government where the presidential family lives, and other historic buildings ahead of the protests.
"MEXICO FEMICIDE" was daubed in towering white letters on the black metal cordon in front of the Palace, which faces the Zocalo main square, the stage for many major demonstrations.
Women take part in a demonstration to mark the International Women's Day in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 8, 2022. Photo: Ulises Ruiz / AFP
Mexico recorded 969 femicides last year, up slightly from 949 in 2020, according to government figures.
But activists say the true figures are likely much higher, and some estimate 10 women a day are murdered because of their gender.
A group of protesters chanted "Women united, will never be defeated," as they arrived near the National Palace, waving white flags.
Others, donned in purple bandanas for the region's feminist movement or green in support of abortion rights, marched down one of Mexico City's main avenues holding banners and posters with feminist slogans.
Frida Moreno, a 21-year-old student who said abusive teachers scarred her upbringing, believed she felt duty-bound to march so other young girls would be spared similar experiences.
"Although I feel privileged because I live in a safe area, no one can guarantee that one day I will not disappear ... and appear in a vacant lot dead, raped," said Moreno, on the verge of tears.
Lopez Obrador, who appointed women to half his Cabinet posts, rejects claims by activists that he is not interested in tackling femicides, saying progress has been made to defend women's rights.
Asked on Tuesday morning if protests could be violent, as one government official had predicted, Lopez Obrador nodded.
"There is infiltration of the feminist movement in general by conservative groups," he said, noting it was wrong "to use violence for political purposes."
The Mexico City government had said it would deploy dozens of paramedics as well as an all-female police force.
-Reuters
