In Pics | World rallies for Women's Day under Ukraine war shadow
Protesters took to the streets worldwide for International Women's Day on March 8 with demonstrators clashing with police in Turkey and many rallies urging solidarity with war-torn Ukraine.
AFP
March 09, 2022 / 03:29 PM IST
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Protesters took to the streets worldwide for International Women's Day on March 8 with demonstrators clashing with police in Turkey and many rallies urging solidarity with war-torn Ukraine. (Image: AFP)
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In Istanbul, where protesters were planning a rally against femicide, Turkish police blocked hundreds from reaching the central Istiklal Avenue. But the demonstrators refused to be stopped, breaking through the barricades, whistling and waving "Feminist rebellion" banners, prompting police to fire tear gas to disperse them. (Image: AFP)
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All eyes were on the unending stream of women and children fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has triggered Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. With more than two million people forced into exile, few of those arriving in the Polish border city of Przemysl could spare a thought to mark the date. One lone priest could be seen wandering through the train station handing out red and yellow tulips to the arriving women. (Image: AFP)
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At some checkpoints in war-torn Kyiv, volunteer soldiers were also handing out tulips to women passers-by, an AFP correspondent said. (Image: AFP)
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A festive atmosphere was marked by rhythmic drumming and chanting as the masses waved banners against gender violence in a protest peppered with signs saying "No war". (Image: AFP)
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In Madrid, some 30,000 protesters turned the city centre into a sea of purple, a Spanish government spokesman said. (Image: AFP)
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Thousands more rallied in Barcelona while in Paris a gathering of thousands began with the reading of a letter from Russian feminists urging activists to "take a stand against the war" which brought out "the violence of bullets but also sexual violence". (Image: AFP)
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In Pakistan, some 2,000 women rallied in the eastern city of Lahore despite official efforts to bar the protest and withdraw security for an event frequently targeted by violence. In a jovial atmosphere, they marched through the streets, chanting "Give respect to women" and "End the patriarchy" as another 1,000 women rallied in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and 200 in the capital, Islamabad. (Image: AFP)
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Meanwhile, Afghanistan marked the day in muted fashion with activists cowed by the threat of arrest by the country's Taliban rulers who swept back to power in August last year, rolling back decades of advances for women. (Image: AFP)
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And in Kenya, 150 people marched through the capital Nairobi calling for an end to gender-based violence after a woman was viciously attacked by motorcycle taxi drivers. The incident occurred on March 4, with a viral video showing the men grabbing at the young woman's clothes as she screamed inside her car. Police arrested 16 people in connection with the assault. (Image: AFP)
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A woman smiles as she receives a flower from a Polish priest on the occasion of the International women’s' day at the train station of Przemyl where hundreds refugees from Ukraine wait for their relocation, in Przemysl, Poland, on March 8. (Image: AFP)
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Women and men carry banners and posters, some denouncing Russia's invasion of the Ukraine, as they attend a rally to mark the International Women's Day in Bishkek on March 8. (Image: AFP)
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People protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, on Women's Day, on March 8. (Image: AFP)
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An activist holds a placard against Russia's invasion of Ukraine while attending an International Women's Day rally in Tokyo on March 8. (Image: AFP)
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A banner against the Russian invasion in Ukraine is seen during a demonstration to mark the International Women's Day in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 8. (Image: AFP)
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Women hold banners against the Russian invasion to Ukraine outside the UN offices in the framework of International Women's Day, in Caracas, on March 8. (Image: AFP)
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Women hold placards during a candle light vigil to pray for peace between Russia and Ukraine on the occasion of International Women's Day in Chennai on March 8. (Image: AFP)
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A woman holds a placard near the European institutions during a demonstration called "Women stand with Ukraine" against Russia's military operation in Ukraine as part of International Women's Day in Brussels, on March 8. (Image: AFP)
