ASUNCION, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — The traditional annual march called “25N” as part of the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women was held in Paraguay on Saturday.
The event, organized by the Feminist Articulation of Paraguay in coordination with other organizations and social groups, took place in Asunción, where more than a hundred people gathered first in Plaza Uruguaya, then marched through the streets of the city center and finally the central event took place in the Plaza de la Democracia with presentations by several artists and the reading of the 2023 Manifesto.
“We women denounce that the new government has no interest in guaranteeing us a life free of violence, it even promotes hate campaigns and education that perpetuates gender role stereotypes and machismo,” the manifesto began.
“We feel in our bodies the advance of the anti-right, they try to ban words to hide the asymmetries that we encounter and they persecute our achievements in the right, and worst of all, they persecute women, our companions, they persecute those who raise their voices.” “Today it is important to say it loudly: we are not alone, if they achieve one thing, we will defend them all, because together we are stronger,” he emphasized.
“We march because we are tired of the violence our bodies endure every day. It hurts us every time we learn that a girl or woman is a victim of abuse, violence, transfemicide and femicide,” she concluded.
Symbolic protests and marches also took place in other cities in the interior of Paraguay under the motto “For our rights and against violence”.
These were the cases of Ciudad del Este, in the Alto Paraná department, and Horqueta, in the Concepción department (north), where in both places there was a high participation of women identifying themselves with purple clothing and headscarves, balloons, banners and drums.
According to official data from the Ministry of State, a total of 38 victims of femicide have been reported so far this year, which is already more than in all of 2022, when 36 women were murdered.
Likewise, complaints of family or gender-based violence have tripled from 2015 to 2022, with an average of 94 cases per day recorded nationwide.