March 8 is a day internationally recognized as International Women’s Day by the United Nations and observed globally, by nations around the world. While many nations in the rest of the world take the day to celebrate and call for the advancement of women’s rights, in Mexico, it is used as a day for protest, calling for the end of femicides, trafficking, and Machismo in the country, urging officials to lend a hand against the crimes that occur every day.
On March 8, 2024 180,000 women gathered in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, wearing purple in various forms. The women wore purple clothing, and specifically, lilac bandanas, representing justice, dignity, and loyalty to the cause. They fearlessly marched through the city and in front of the presidential palace, protesting the lack of input and interference from government officials and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Not only in Mexico City, but in many other states of Mexico, women gathered to march together, chanting in unison, against the femicides that occur daily in the country. In Culiacan, hundreds of women gathered and chanted, “Vivas las queremos, vivas se las llevaron,” “We want them alive, they took them alive.”
Femicide has been an ongoing issue in Mexico for the last couple of decades, with the statistics showing the situation is worsening exponentially. The women of Mexico often highlight that the numbers are actually much larger as half of the crimes committed against women remain unreported. In Guanajuato, a state in Mexico, femicides are reported at an unprecedented rate, with a report even showing that one in three women and girls go missing everyday. A study done by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, Mexican Government Agency, cited that in 2021, 41.8% of women 15 and older, have faced violence. In 2022, they found that children from the ages of 10 to 14 experienced the most violence with girls from these ages experiencing violence 4.7 times more than boys between these ages. With statistics depicting the gravity of the danger girls and women face in Mexico, March 8th serves as a day for the public to urge for change in policy and in crimes.
Many took to TikTok to share their frustration with not only their government, but with the complicity of other fellow citizens. One video depicts a father, Jose Castillo, marching with women, for justice for his daughter, Esmeralda Castillo Rincon. Her case is like many others, a young girl gone missing and never found. She disappeared on May 17th 2009 at the age of 14, and in May of 2022, her father expressed his frustration saying, “It has been 13 years of seeking justice for Esmeralda without success. We demand that the investigations into this case continue,” after her name was removed from the missing person’s list.
Esmeralda’s story has gained traction with many in Mexico, and on March 8, her father joins the marches to demand justice for others just like Esmeralda. The same TikTok video reads, “Esmerelda, your father is still looking for you.” Another video on TikTok displays women surroundingJose Castillo as he says, “The day that Esmerelda returns, she will be marching.” The women chanted, “You are not alone.” You can click here to view the TikTok video.
The effects of the rates of femicide and crimes against women in Mexico can be seen through the pain and anger of those who have tirelessly fought for change, for protection of women and girls. Young girls are commonly present at the March 8 marches in Mexico and have also been protesting the rise of femicides against very young girls. In a TikTok, a toddler aged girl can be seen and heard chanting, “Do not touch little girls.”
While March 8th is a day of celebration for many around the world, it is a day of pain and protest in so many others. It is not a ‘Happy Women’s Day,’ but a day to face the horrible reality that women in Mexico face daily.
Leave a Reply