March 8th
”As Roma girls and young women, we are systematically taught that we should not embrace our feminine power and sexuality. Instead, we have to be ashamed of our bodies and should repress our feelings. Being confident in your body and knowing that you are capable of anything is what ALL women deserve to feel. Not only on 8th of March but every single day of the year.”
- Marina Csikós
”March 8 is a key turning point for me. Participating in the Ancestry of the Future project here in Brazil changed the way I thought about gender roles. Being a Roma person, and especially a Roma woman, comes up against barriers that impose limitations on the exercise of basic rights, such as exercising my culture, working, and moving through space. The place my body occupies in the world is crossed by colonial violence, racism, and exploitation. Patriarchy is one more of the faces that pushes me in that space. The international women's march is important to name these wounds and try to tear them down.”
- Sara Macêdo
”For me, 8 of March is a day of protest, a day for the fight and revendication of all the existent issues that many women still face around the globe (sexual violence, gender-based violence, poverty, intersectional discrimination, limited access to education, equal pay, etc.). But if I want to celebrate someone today, will be people like my mother, who do not know what feminism is, but she is an example of feminism through her work, resilience, and drive to overcome the cruel reality that many Roma women experience, not just in Romania but in Europe. 8 of march is also about these women, our sheroes, whom we own everything, whom we turn to when we are not well, who make our lives as women safer and more beautiful. Other than that, I wish an amazing day to all that feel/identify as women. Happy international women's day and Opre Romnja!”
- Maria Dumitru Ruiz
”Being aware of the different meaning of March 8th in different parts of the world, my concept of it has been changing as I have been maturing in all personal and professional aspects. Today, for me the 8th of March has a double meaning. On the one hand, I consider that it is becoming more and more capitalized and used by politicians, corporations and individuals to use it as propaganda, as many other days that are celebrated, for their own benefits even within the white feminists themselves who fight against each other for recognition. On the other hand, maybe because of the context I come from, it is another day of struggle, of claims, of visibility, of protest and demand of rights and security for all.
The questions are, where do Roma and racialized women find themselves within this day? Is a space given within the feminist space for their voices? if a flower is given as a token of respect to women on this day, do they receive one? Is this day for everyone?”
- Alba Hernandez
”Happy International Women's Day! Let's celebrate our femininity and women's rights! Aloha from Hawaii!”
- Justyna Matkowska
”During the development of the women's movement and the institutionalization of women's rights and gender equality, one very important aspect is the recognition of women's leadership within institutions, social and family structures. Certainly, the recognition that women leaders exist, live and work is not without obstacles and difficulties.”
- Milena Reljić
