On International Women’s Day Monday, March 8, a nationwide protest of violence against women took place all across Mexico. This “Day Without Women” consisted of thousands striking work or school and marching in the streets. These protesters urge the government to take action against the recent increase in Femicide, the gender-motivated murder of women. 

Unfortunately, female-focused violence in the nation has always been an issue. However, it has become a far more serious issue in the past few months. Mexico’s secretary general of National Public Security reports that 2,833 women were killed from January to September in 2019. 

Unfortunately, the government’s statistics show that since January 2020, an additional 267 Mexican women have been killed. Regarding these crimes, only about a quarter were reported as a hate-crime rather than simply a homicide. Many women simply go missing, prompting worries of human trafficking. 

Protestors held this walk out in order to represent the estimated ten women who go missing daily in the country. Their goal was to not only raise awareness to everyday people but to gain recognition from the president, and demand legal action. Many critics believe his administration to be tone-deaf to the movement, especially as he stated his belief that political opponents assisted in the organization of the march in order to “see him fail.” 

Ms. Bethany Brown, a Spanish teacher at Oakdale and former resident of Mexico, voiced her feelings on the situation: “I think that it’s very powerful to raise awareness, in Mexico I think that perhaps women don’t receive the same treatment that men often receive. As a global issue as well, this is important with the human trafficking aspect and looking into why it is only females being targetted.” She continued to explain the enormity of the issue, referring to it as a “huge problem.” 

Josephine Sasse, an Oakdale Junior reiterated the importance of protests. She claimed, “Nothing ever will really change unless drastic changes are made, and gaining attention by making a bit of a scene.” 

Sasse used women’s suffrage in the United States as an example of successful protest:“I don’t think protesting is going about it the wrong way at all, ” she said. 

Overall, this situation allows for further discussion on women’s issues. Sasse described the importance of this: “Even though some believe that equality between genders is worldwide, although it’s a normal thing in America but in many countries that’s not the case. Feminism is still very important, women’s rights need to be secured everywhere.” 

Undoubtedly, this substantial movement will continue in both Mexico and the entirety of the world. As women’s violence is so prominent, any action taken by the government to hinder this would surely be groundbreaking.