What would women march for in the UK?
Posted by Ellee on Feb 18, 2011 in Blog, News | 6 commentsWhen did thousands of women last hold protest marches in the UK? Is there any issue they feel passionate about which would spur them into this kind of protest?
I ask this question following the outraged women of Italy who did just that recently throughout their country. They made their moral stand against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi by marching through 60 towns and cities. Smaller protests were also held in Brussels, Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, Lyon and Toulouse in France, and as far afield as Tokyo. But not in Britain.
Italy might be renowned for its hot blooded Latin lovers and Casanova, but these women made it clear they were outraged by the ridicule their country was facing as a result of Berlusconi’s recent sex scandals. Some women carried banners reading “Italy is not a brothel”, and said Berlusconi had demeaned women with his recent sex scandals. He now faces charges of under-age sex with Karima El Mahroug, aged 17, (pic) and abusing his position of power. Do we have that kind of fire in our bellies here?
We’ve witnessed protests on our streets from country lovers and students, lorry drivers and climate change activists – but no sole groups of women. These Latin women who don’t just sit and complain, but take action. Their inspiration is timely with the forthcoming 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on 8 March.
Please read the link on this page to learn about its history, how it all began in 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. Our fight still goes on today for flexible women’s working hours, and in some cases for equal pay.
So again, I ask, what would make you take to the streets in protest?
Against the public sector cuts which are unnecessary. There are other ways to save money and save the economy.
Equal rights
I would fight for more help for the Mentally ill.. from all levels. They get diagnosed and then nothing happens .. NO support .. No help from anywhere .. just left of fade in to society .
And I would fight to get my National INsurance contributions linked to Child Benefit , when I took a break from work to have children , or should I say when I took abreak to work as I was supporting my husband in the Forces ..
Anne, I often wonder if i knew then what i knew now would i ever have married a service man …..it may be different now but back then when you married a service man you basically gave up your life
My children
Injustice to the disabled and carers.
It’s a long list! I recently re-read “The Mad Woman’s Underclothes”, a collection of Germaine Greer’s columns and essays from the 1970s and 1980s. The issues she wrote about still matter today – young girls feeling that the only path to validity is through sleeeping with any boy that wants them. Girls and women mutilating or starving their healthy bodies to meet an external fantasty of what constitutes beauty. The isolation of the woman who backs off on her career to raise a family and finds herself at the age of 50 with neither. So I guess what I’m saying is that I’d march for the goals and ideals of 1970s feminism, because whatever anyone says, that fight is still needed.
Excuse me while I go and set light to my bra