As part of the commemoration of International Women’s Day, dozens of people took to the streets of Costa Rica to demand rights and safety for women. With banners and the conviction that a better and fairer society is possible, the march began in San José’s Central Park. The demonstrators continued their journey until they reached the Plaza de la Democracia, situated near the Legislative Assembly.
Both adults and children participated, as Costa Rican women raised their voices for all those women who were gone, for their reproductive rights, and the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua.
“We demand justice and persist in the struggle for our rights in the face of the escalating state violence we have faced since 2007 in Nicaragua, intensified during the crisis of 2018. Marching in this country is an act of resistance,” said one of the Nicaraguan refugees in Costa Rica.
A prominent banner leading the procession boldly declared, “Freedom for the political prisoners of Nicaragua,” encapsulating the collective call for justice and freedom.
With unwavering resolve, the women voiced their condemnation of abuse, sexual harassment, and femicide, asserting their fundamental right to exist in a society free from violence and oppression.
“I was the girl you touched without consent, but I am the aunt of the girl you will NEVER touch or destroy,” declared one woman.
The women called for a society that respects them, where they do not have to go out in the streets in fear, that allows them to make their own decisions about their lives and to close gender gaps in order to have equality. They also complained to the authorities about their lack of attention to the problems that women face on a daily basis.
Others told their stories of sexual abuse, hoping that one day justice can be served for the violence they have suffered.
“I come to fight for all those girls who were never believed. There were many years of silence in which my family never knew what happened to me. They never believed my mother and my aggressor was the same as hers,” said one of the protestors.
International Women’s Day, commemorated around the world every March 8, has been a symbol of the struggle and demands for women’s rights against sexism and inequality compared to men for more than a century.
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Ileana Fernandez
