Thousands in Brussels demand gender equality, abortion rights, and recognition of unpaid care work; a call for change.
About 15,000 people marched through the streets of Brussels on Friday to demand rights for women and gender minorities. The crowd gathered at Place de l’Albertine at 5:00 p.m. and then walked to Place Poelart. They also went through Place Royale before returning to where they began. Some signs read, “Equality will not kill your masculinity” and “Police, justice, dismissal: you are complicit.”
Organized by the international feminist and anti-capitalist action movement, the “World March of Women,” the demonstration aimed to highlight the negative impact of austerity policies on women’s living conditions, which “limit their autonomy and keep them in insecurity.”
“We are marching because even today, in Belgium, gender prejudice exists,” stated Marcela De La Peña, the coordinator of the World March of Women. She highlighted the wage gap and instances of sexist and sexual violence, which occur in the street, at work, or home. De La Peña highlighted the need for “more structural initiatives to raise awareness among different actors in society about this discrimination.”
The protesters also raised concerns about the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion), especially advocating for the complete decriminalization of abortion rights in Belgium. “We are marching to eradicate the obstacles that hinder access to safe and legal abortions in our country, particularly by expanding the legal period for accessing abortion or removing the mandatory six-day reflection period,” stated Amnesty International Belgium.
They also highlighted the unequal distribution of “care” work, which encompasses taking care of others, whether professionally or in private life. According to statistics, women spend approximately seven hours more than men on domestic chores like shopping, cleaning the home, and caring for children.
This “care” work, which is not inherently natural, remains invisible, unpaid, and lacks recognition,” emphasized Malika Roelants, one of the spokespersons. “A feminist strike allows us to demonstrate that when women stop working, producing, and caring, the world stops because we are essential to the proper functioning of society,” insisted the activist. Additionally, the collective expressed solidarity with Palestinian women and victims of armed conflicts, particularly those subjected to the use of women’s bodies as “spoils of war.”
