After two years of pandemic, Ibiza was eager to take to the streets again and raise its voice for women’s rights and gender equality. The enthusiasm and energy with which the nearly 700 people who took part in the demonstration organised by the 8M Commission, made up of Emprendada Feminista, La llave del armario, Médicos del Mundo, Libertarias and Dones Progressistes, raised banners and chanted feminist slogans was evident. “The violet flame burns brighter than ever”, the spokespersons of the feminist groups noted with satisfaction when at 8pm they took to the stage in parque Reina Sofía to read the manifesto for International Women’s Day.
Two and a half hours earlier, the member associations of the 8M Commission had begun to warm up in the Parque de la Paz. There, dozens of people, mostly women, including many young women, took the opportunity to write the messages for the posters that would later be displayed at the demonstration. Many used their imagination and others opted for feminist phrases of famous women, including instagramers, such as ‘The patriarchy are the dinosaurs, we are the meteorite’, by Lola Vendetta, a young illustrator who many compare to the new Mafalda of the digital era.
The parque de la Paz was also the setting for a performance by Lucía Ortín, which aimed to make the public reflect on the importance of consent in sexual relations. “Have you ever been pressured for sex while being groped? Has your own partner pressured you to do it or have you been afraid of being abused or violated? Me too. Give me a hug if you need it,” read the sign she held up blindfolded. There were a few women who identified with this message and embraced the artist.
Minutes after the clock struck half past six, the demonstration began, which at that moment, according to the calculations of the security services, was made up of about 500 people. This number grew progressively until it reached 700 people in the Avenida de España, who did not tire of bouncing and shouting ‘Down with patriarchy, up with feminism’, among many other slogans.
The protest energy overflowed when the demonstrators met, next to the Paseo de Vara de Rey, with the members of Aiyé, who, to the rhythm of batucada, accompanied the march to the Parque Reina Sofía.
After their performance, came the central moment of the day, the reading of the 8M manifesto, which was carried out by Núria Prieto, Iulia Pricope, Shaima Triki, Andrea Wizner and Graciela Masiano, accompanied by a sign language interpreter.
That the covid crisis “has affected women the most” is something that was made very clear in this manifesto by the feminist associations and the rest of the groups that form part of the 8M Commission. “It has increased the burden of care work for women, it has become more difficult to report sexist violence, it has deepened all the social gaps and it has made the lives of the most vulnerable people even more precarious, if possible,” they denounced. For this reason, they pointed out, it is important to continue demanding “equal rights and opportunities and justice” for women, including, they added, “in sports competitions”.
The spokeswomen of the 8M Commission insisted on the idea of “placing care at the center of life”. “It is essential to give prestige to all jobs, public and private, paid or unpaid, that have to do with care and that have been historically feminized, since without this prestige and social relevance it becomes difficult to increase the co-responsibility of men, a necessary and urgent condition for achieving a new social model that is fair, sustainable and egalitarian”, they stressed.
8M “No to war!”
“Defending care as a fundamental pillar of life is incompatible with a savage capitalist system,” they stressed before addressing the conflict in Ukraine and expressing their “deepest rejection of the military invasion of this country by Russia”. The shout of “No to war!” by the spokeswomen of 8M was joined by the entire audience gathered in the Parque Reina Sofía.
Through the text entitled, ‘Derechos para todas todos los días. Juntas somos más fuertes’ (Rights for all every day. We are stronger together), the feminist movement also demanded “the repeal” of the regulations “that curtail freedoms, such as Law on Foreigners, which criminalizes migrants and hinders the recognition of refugee status”.
The text also emphasized male violence, “which the covid crisis has contributed to its increase”, calling for “resources, education and feminist justice” to end this scourge.
The struggle to improve working conditions was another of the issues raised in the manifesto. “The pandemic has aggravated previously existing differences, such as a higher rate of unemployment among women than men, or greater poverty and job insecurity among women, or the maintenance of the wage gap, benefits, and pensions, especially widows’ pensions”, denounced the spokespersons of the 8M Commission.
Finally, the feminists of Ibiza launched an appeal “to society, companies and institutions to contribute to end discrimination based on origin, image, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or for any other reason”.
“The current health crisis has shown us the priority and importance of accompanying and caring for life, with freedom and responsibility, and we feminists must ensure that the crisis is not used, once again, to frighten us and to diminish the rights of citizens”, was one of the last reflections of the manifesto.
At the end of the reading of the text, there were barely fifty people left in the parque Reina Sofía, still wanting to celebrate feminism and to participate in the karaoke, which opened with the song by Alaska y Dinarama ‘A quién le importa’, which had already been enthusiastically chanted during the demonstration.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.