Vancouver’s International Women’s Day march centred around equality and togetherness
Posted March 5, 2023 3:10 pm.
Last Updated March 5, 2023 8:09 pm.
International Women’s Day is just around the corner and people are marching Sunday afternoon in honour of the celebration.
A group of Simon Fraser University (SFU) students and alumni organized the march starting at the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza from noon to 4 p.m.
The event is to bring awareness to gender-based violence and inequality that women around the world face.
Camila Escajeda made a sign in support of women experiencing violence and patriarchal issues in Mexico.
“Over 10 women a day are being killed due to macho culture. Only 2.4 per cent are being investigated as femicides,” she explained. “This is always due to domestic violence women are suffering.”
Escajeda adds she’s fortunate to be in Canada as opposed to elsewhere in the world.
“Many people don’t have the right for abortion, or are somewhere they can walk safe on the street,” she said. “I want to be the voice of all my Mexican sisters today to show support for the ones that are not here anymore, the ones that are still here, and the ones that are coming, because we’re trying to reeducate this society and we’ll fight for our rights again.”
Yasmin Simsek is a master’s student at SFU and chair of the committee that organized the march. She says this International Women’s Day march is here to represent everyone’s fight for equality.
“Some peoples’ fight are not the same as mine, and we need to acknowledge and help each other through that,” she said.
Simsek says gathering together creates a different kind of strength, she explains “together, we roar louder.”
“We wanted to make a march where we can really rally together all women and show what we’re fighting for, the different things we’re fighting for.”
International Women’s Day is on March 8, and is aimed at acknowledging self-identifying women, and non-binary people’s achievements, as well as helping create a world of gender equality.
This year’s celebration has its own theme too, ‘Embrace Equity.’
