On Sunday the 6th of March, women and supporters of women’s rights will be gathering near the Tritons Fountain at 11am to march through the streets of Valletta on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The march is being organised by Moviment Graffitti, Young Progressive Beings, Women’s Rights Foundation and Doctors For Choice and is endorsed by a number of other organisations that support gender equality and women’s rights. The theme that was chosen this year is Women’s Day Every Day: Less Words More Action. This seeks to emphasize that issues such as gender stereotyping, sexual harassment, and violence, which are put under the spotlight once a year on this occasion, are faced by women every day.

Women’s day is not a celebration. It is a day when we remember the fights and struggles that feminists have had to fight in order to gain what we now take for granted, and a political manifestation demanding that women’s disadvantage in society is taken seriously by policy makers. The women’s rights organisations argue that joining together to fight against sexism, gender inequalities, gender stereotypes and other injustices faced by women in their everyday lives is of crucial importance. Women are fed up of hearing empty words, and it is high time for more concrete action that will truly make a difference in women’s lives, the organisations said.

The organisations argue that our patriarchal society breeds stereotypes through its many institutions so that gender inequalities are taken as natural. Our society has normalised violence against women in all its forms to the extent that it is not uncommon for women to be blamed rather than protected by society. More accountability is needed by those who are responsible for the suffering of women who continue to be victims of these injustices. Even those who are not the direct perpetrators of violence are complicit through their silence and lack of accountability, the organisations said. The issue is systemic and requires a number of changes in the law as well as on a cultural and social level. Eradicating stereotypes is no easy task. Words are cheap. It is action that is required to bring about change in all spheres of society, the organisations said. They urged women and all those who support gender equality and want to see an end to sexism to join them on Sunday 6th March to raise their voices against a patriarchal society which would like women and men to believe that gender inequality is natural and just.

They said that empty words and complimentary gifts do not compensate for the inequalities, the stereotypes and the injustices that affect women’s lives every day. What women want is not flowers but the elimination of gender stereotypes, injustice and inequity; an end to gender-based violence in all its forms; the ability to walk alone in the street and to feel safe both outside and inside their homes.

The Women’s Day March is being endorsed by the following organisations:

aditus foundation

Alleanza Kontra l-Faqar

Dance Beyond Borders

Għajjejt u Xbajt

Integra Foundation

Malta Humanist Association

Malta Women’s Lobby

MGRM – Malta LGBT Rights Movement

Migrant Women Association Malta

Women for Women Foundation

Żminijietna – Voice of the Left