Thousands take to the streets for International Women’s Day

Thousands of people marched in Brussels on Wednesday to advocate for equality between women and men as part of the worldwide celebration of International Women’s Day. Estimates for the crowd ranged from 5,000 to 8,000 people.

Global feminist network the World March of Women was this year calling for greater focus on economic violence against women, particularly the economic disparity exacerbated by rising energy prices and a deepening cost-of-living crisis across Europe.

“Women find themselves economically dependent on their partner and in a precarious situation [due to] the economic policies of the state”, the organisation said in a statement.

The organisation called for greater state action to reduce energy prices, which they argued disproportionately affected women.

The event saw a number of women from different unions and civil society organisations calling for government action on violence against women as well as support for undocumented women living in precarious situations across Belgium.