Press release from Somos un Rostro Colectivo on March 8, 2022 and its mobilization agenda

Press release M8, 2022 “Women sustain and transform the world”.

Bogotá, March 7, 2022

On March 8, International Working Women’s Day, a large mobilization of women in all their diversity is being called in Bogota to demand from the State and society a just world, free of precariousness and respectful of our rights. As diverse women and feminist gender dissidents, we organize again to occupy the public space and make a vindicative, broad, diverse and powerful March 8th. We return to the public space to remember, to reclaim the dignity and defend the freedom of each and every one of the women who work day after day to keep the world standing.

We refuse to reproduce capital, imperialism and all discriminatory practices that make decent work impossible for us. We will not remain silent in the face of a society that makes our paid work precarious and does not recognize the enormous contribution we make through unpaid work, such as caregiving, because we women sustain and transform the world!

We will mobilize in a great march that puts our demands at the center from a collective feminist, lesbofeminist, transinclusive, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, anti-classist and counter-capacist fabric. For this reason, we will mobilize on the networks and in the streets through the messages #LasMujeresSostenemos (#WeWomenSustain) and #LasMujeresTransformamos (#WeWomenTransform). In Bogota, both on the route of the mobilization and at the points along the route, we will be accompanied by different artistic and cultural displays aimed at girls, diverse women and gender dissidents who will be in this march. We will start from the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation with the Dignity stop; we will march to the Feminist Gallery “Siempre Vivas” with the Freedom stop, and we will end the mobilization at the Plaza de la Hoja with the Memory stop.

The organization of this march has been possible thanks to two months of meetings and daily work in which hundreds of women from different corners of Bogota were present with the aim of uniting our wills to achieve a mobilization that corresponds to the vibrant moment for the intergenerational feminist movement and defender of women’s rights as it is happening in the city today.

From different geographical points and shores of demands, we work tirelessly for each of our causes: the right to legal, free and safe abortion, which was recently reaffirmed by the Constitutional Court and must be guaranteed throughout the country; for the right to dignified, remunerated and equitable work, for the right to have a life free of violence; for justice and reparation for those who have been victims of these multiple forms of violence, including femicide; for the right to identity and a dignified life for trans people; for public and free education, for the freedom of political prisoners. Also for the defense of the land, the environment and peace without costing us our lives, for our political ideals, for the right to health, for the right to protest and always, always, against police repression against those of us who oppose a repressive and murderous government, and a society that disregards life, especially that of women in their diversity.

As we have been insisting for some time, the living conditions of women in Colombia continue to be at risk: during the first two months of 2022, more than 40 femicides and more than 35 transfeminicides have been committed between 2021 and 2022. At the same time, we continue to be disproportionately responsible for caregiving tasks, and we represent double the unemployment rate. Seventy-eight percent of unpaid care tasks are assumed by us, something that worsened with the pandemic and has not recovered.

For all this and more, this March 8th we mobilize once again to denounce the multiple forms of violence to which we are exposed, which affect our lives and our full enjoyment of our rights. Here we are, diverse women defending what is ours, we do not negotiate our rights, we resist for them!

Information on mobilization:

Dignity: Memory Center. Start of activities at the parade: 3:00 p.m.

Freedom: Galería siemprevivas, calle 26 with carrera 30. Estimated time of arrival at second stop: 5:30 p.m.

Memory: Plaza de La Hoja. Estimated time of arrival at the third stop: 7:00 p.m. At this stop we will have a concert, graphic exhibition and different cultural activities.

We invite you to join the mobilization and to share the messages and denunciations that we have collectively built for this #8M, which can be found on our social networks Somos un rostro colectivo on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

We reiterate the responsibility of the media in the eradication, prevention and punishment of violence against women, not only in the coverage that has to do with gender violence, but also in the way in which journalism is done and the people who do it. In this sense, we share with you the manual built by the team of photographers and journalists belonging to this articulation as an invitation to be applied in your media. We believe it is necessary to emphasize that we prioritize coverage by diverse women and non-binary people of this demonstration and any other that is directly related to the national feminist movement in particular.

The following points must be taken into account and must be fully complied with by the attendees:

Do not portray the identifiable faces of any of the women, trans and non-binary people who are making any kind of direct intervention during the march. Respect for identity is paramount, we do not want the freedom of anonymity to be put at risk for any reason.
Cisgender men will not cover this mobilization from the front line at any of the stops and during the tour, they can cover from behind respecting the distance spaces suggested, if they do not respect these guidelines they will be asked to leave the space.
Avoid having a direct approach to people who are with their naked torso as part of their demonstration. If you wish to take a close-up photo, you must request permission.
We emphasize that it is important to give the respective credit to the work done by each of the photographers, so if an image of this day reaches different hands, please check the file name to include the respective credit.
In case you are a media outlet that does not have female photographers in your team, we have a directory of professional women photographers who will be covering the mobilization this 8M, for those interested in purchasing their images.
The group of official photographers of M8 will ensure that the above is complied with. Finally, we attach the names and telephone numbers of the women who are spokespersons of this articulation, because we consider that responsible journalism with a gender focus is one in which women are not only the object of information, but also the subject of rights and expert sources.