Massive women-led marches were held around the world Monday to commemorate International Women’s Day. In Mexico, thousands of women from across the country gathered in Mexico City’s Zócalo protesting skyrocketing femicides. They’re also blasting President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for supporting a gubernatorial candidate for the state of Guerrero who is accused of rape. Protesters were met by police who used tear gas and batons to try to disperse the crowd. This is one of the protesters.

Mercedes Yamileth Hernández: “My name is Mercedes Yamileth Hernández. I am proud to be a Mexican woman. I come here for all the women they have taken away from us, for every girl they have killed. I was raped from age 4 to age 9, and my family just defended my attacker. The state also defended him. Today I also come for my friend who is disappeared. I am proud to be here to just scream. This has to end. They have to stop killing us, raping us and assaulting us. And they just keep doing it. The pandemic has not stopped them from acting this way. They just don’t care.”

In Guatemala, hundreds of women and girls led marches and ceremonies in different parts of the country demanding justice for victims of femicides and survivors of violence. Women also marked the fourth anniversary of the death of 41 girls who were burnt alive at an orphanage near Guatemala City after they protested sexual and physical violence at the facility.

Massive marches also took place in La Paz, Bolivia, and in Istanbul, Turkey, where thousands took to the streets, including Uyghur women and girls who led a demonstration protesting China’s treatment of Uyghurs.