Barcelona International Women's Day march gathers 40,000 

More than 40,000 people have taken to the streets of Barcelona to march on International Women's Day 2024.

'Together against precariousness, borders, and genocide' was the slogan of the march in Barcelona.

The group marched from Jardinets de Gràcia towards Arc de Triomf, where the final acts of the day, speeches and musical performances, were held.

The front of the demonstration was reserved for people with disabilities to denounce the double discrimination they suffer.

The 8-M Assembly, the organizers of the demonstration on Friday evening, called for people to "overflow the streets with feminism" to denounce all labor insecurity and violence suffered by women, lesbians, and trans people, and demand rights. 

Among the demonstrators were posters reading slogans such as 'Migrants in struggle' from the Sindihogar collective, and others recalling victims of gender violence.

There were also organizations such as Amnesty International, trade unions, and left-wing social groups present at the march. 

Natàlia Cámara, a member of the organizing collective, explained that this was the aim of the demonstration at a press conference earlier this week. 

The demonstration also stands against the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, and to shine a light on "the genocide in Gaza" while demanding the Catalan and Spanish governments pressure Israel for a ceasefire. 

This demonstration coincides with the general strike called by trade unions CGT, Intersindical-CSC, and IAC.

Elsewhere in Catalonia, 2,500 people gathered in Girona to "continue the feminist struggle," while another 500 marched each in Tarragona and Lleida.

Students kick off day of protests

Earlier in the day, students kicked off the day's protests as 5,000 marched on Friday at noon in the center of the Catalan capital to stand up for feminism and its freedom.

The demonstration, organized by the Students' Union and with the participation of the SEPC union, was a demand for the end to violence against women.

Chants such as "If I don't say yes, it's rape," and "clothed or unclothed, my body is not to be touched" were heard during the protest.

Participants also pointed to "the flood of accusations against teachers harassing in public universities" as a motive to take to the street, as explained by the Student Union spokesperson, Sofia Vázquez.

Vázquez asked for "exemplary punishment" for those who harrass students, demanding that abusers be kicked out of the university system.

The union spokesperson pointed out that in Spain and Catalonia, women continue to be "murdered and raped and absolutely nothing happens." "The clearest example is the Dani Alves sentence. If you're rich, it's very, very cheap to rape," she said. 

Vázquez also denounced the "complicity" of the Spanish government in the "genocide" in Gaza because "Pedro Sánchez continues to sell weapons to Israel."

The first demonstration of the day went from Plaça Universitat to Plaça Sant Jaume, passing through Plaça Catalunya and Via Laietana.

Banners at the demonstration had messages such as "your mind is shorter than my skirt", "enough transphobia", "I like women and I don't harrass them", and "I want to be free and not brave."

Purple, like every year, was a prominent color at the protest, being seen on face paint, on banners, clothes, and many other items.

A festive atmosphere was also added to by the music being played by the students, with a percussion group accompanying the group along their march playing hits such as Rigoberta Bandini's 'Ay mamá' and Alaska's 'A quién le importa' were heard.