"I'm coming to this demonstration and not to the one in the afternoon because I'm not in favor of legalizing prostitution, I'm in favor of abolition," says a 71-year-old woman who is following the march accompanied by two friends. "And against surrogacy, which is an aberration. And this afternoon's are in favor of that," she adds, pointing out two of the major issues that confront feminism – along with the Trans law – and that are the reason why the movement celebrates separately for the second consecutive year the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The woman walks along Madrid's Calle de Alcalá, next to a banner that reads "Women, equal and free" and is supported by a large group of ministers and officials of the PSOE, which supports this first march, the one called at 12:00 noon by the Madrid Forum and the Women's Council. the so-called classical feminists, and which runs between Gran Vía and Plaza de España.
There are the president of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol, the former vice-president of the Government and deputy, Carmen Calvo, and the ministers Diana Morant (Science), Isabel Rodríguez (Housing), Pilar Alegría (Education and Government spokesperson), Fernando Grande-Marlaska (Interior) and also the recently appointed Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo., which he chanted enthusiastically, accompanied by clapping hands, chants such as "Not one less, we don't want to be free".
The demonstration of the classic feminists has thus recovered the presence of the head of Equality, after the predecessor in the position, Irene Montero, participated on 25N in one of the alternative calls organized by the 8M Commission. This is also what the leader of Podemos will do this year, who will join the second march, which is held at 18:00 p.m. and runs between Atocha and Callao.
This second demonstration will also be joined by the newly appointed Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego, so the Government will once again be divided at the meeting.
It is precisely to the "unity" of feminism that the socialist Minister of Equality appealed in statements to the media before the start of the demonstration. "My first message is to appeal for unity, it doesn't matter where we demonstrate, my daughters will come out this afternoon at the demonstration in Valladolid and I am here with my party as so many other times, that is not what is significant, the important thing is that the voice of women and all feminist people is heard loud and loud," Said. "Being divided is an asset that Vox and the right have," she added
"Wear medals. I don't know what the hell they're doing here if they're not abolitionists," a woman dressed in the organizers' vest told us when, upon arriving at the demonstration, we asked where the ministers were. The socialist officials have been placed at the end of a march that has not been attended and that has competed in numbers with the crowd of people shopping who, attracted by the Black Friday sales, occupied the two huge sidewalks of Gran Vía. This demonstration was attended by 2,000 people according to the Government Delegation and 25,000 according to the organizers.
The figure shows how participation has been declining in the wake of the feminist divide. Thus, while in previous years more than 300,000 women took to the streets to demand their rights, last year they did not even reach 30,000 in the two demonstrations, according to data from the Government Delegation.
A few meters in front of the ministers, behind the banner "93 women murdered so far this year", a hundred women dressed completely in white and wearing white masks paraded. Those who did not hold the message, each held a sign with the name of each of the murdered, victims of gender violence and other femicides: "Paloma Pineda, 46 years old, Valladolid", "Elizabeth, 44 years old, Balaguer (Lleida)", Erica Vanesa, 22 years old, Utrera (Seville)", "Madeleine Viluta, 20 years old, Burgos (Castilla y León)"...
The demonstration, whose main slogan was "Against violence against women. Citizen unity and institutional response", he ended with the reading of a manifesto. In it, they identify the "public bodies" that are "more diligent, more effective and decisive" in the fight against sexist violence against women and that there is "zero tolerance with the sexist discourses of the extreme right, already installed in the institutions".
In the last year, since November 25, 2022, they stress, 53 women have been killed by gender-based violence (three other cases are under investigation), in addition to two minors, victims of vicarious violence. They have also denounced that "sexual violence in the sphere of the partner, ex-partner or friendly relationships is still invisible, since it is not understood as violence" and recall that sexual criminality has risen by 13% in 2023 and that annual cases of 'packs' have risen by 54.4% in 2016 and 2021.
In their manifesto, they also denounce "the crimes of pedophilia perpetrated for years by the Catholic Church and other religious confessions" and "impunity in the reproductive exploitation of women abroad", in reference to surrogacy.