Thousands of women took to the streets in different cities of Europe on International Day to Combat Violence against Women.
On Thursday, thousands rallied in Basel, Zurich, Lucerne and Biel in Switzerland in demonstrations led by Swiss and refugee women’s organisations.
In Basel hundreds of women gathered despite an attempt by the police to disperse them due to social distancing measures taken against the pandemic.
“It’s time to defend free women and society against femicide,” they chanted in Kurdish and German as they marched.
In Germany there were demonstrations in Berlin, Duisburg, Mannheim and Trier.
A march was organised in Berlin by the Alliance of Internationalist Feminists, starting in Marzhan where a black woman had been subjected to a racist attack. The woman was pregnant at the time of the attack.
In Wuppertal, a women’s percussion group held an impromptu street concert.