It was one of those cold, rainy mornings on which you wouldn’t envisage leaving home to grab a sack of gold from downstairs, let alone take part in a long march. Except if you had the passion to do that. Against all odds, our calls to march for women’s rights on the International Women’s Day on the 11th of March 2017 were not only heeded, but overwhelmingly answered.
This historic International Women’s Day March was initiated and organized by Fe-Male, along with a diverse alliance of different feminist, students and women’s groups across the country, including women migrant workers, Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese women from all sects, Trans people, secular women, non-binary people, anarchists and liberals.
With a lot of strength, solidarity, resilience and excitement, this march celebrated women living in Lebanon and their efforts to make our society structure, the laws governing us, and our economy, more inclusive and supportive of women. More than 2000 people marched together in Beirut streets, despite the cold weather and the heavy rain. On this day, women from various backgrounds, ethnicity, cultures and ages came to celebrate women’s day and show solidarity under one united slogan: “Different Causes, Same Struggle.”
The sense of solidarity and power in during this march was like none before, with a flavor of diversity and love, people came together, even men, to voice out Lebanese women’s rights. This march has also resulted in creating a feminist bloc that assembles many national feminist groups and NGOs of different causes.
