International Women’s Day: ‘Millions’ join Spain strike

rapeculturerealities:

Unions said 5.3 million women had joined the 24-hour strike, backed by 10 unions and some of Spain’s top women politicians.

Hundreds of thousands of women have joined street protests across Spain, shouting “if we stop, the world stops”.

Events marking the day are being held in dozens of other nations.

Women taking part have stopped working and have been urged by organisers to spend no money and ditch any domestic chores for the day.

Police were called to stop protesters blocking main roads in Barcelona but some women pickets still brought areas to a standstill.

Public transport nationwide is available but at reduced services and flights have also been affected.

Evening marches in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia and a number of other cities are leading events in 200 Spanish locations.

The 8 March Commission is behind the strike. Its manifesto calls for “a society free of sexist oppression, exploitation and violence” and says: “We do not accept worse working conditions, nor being paid less than men for the same work.”

A poll of 1,500 people for the El Pais daily suggested 82% supported the strike, while 76% thought women in Spain had harder lives than men.

Feminist groups only want women to strike to show how important their absence is but Spanish law does not allow for single-gender strikes and men were welcome to support it.

The two main unions had called for members to stop work for two hours in the morning.

International Women’s Day: ‘Millions’ join Spain strike