On International Women’s Struggle Day, March 8, thousands of women have, once again, mobilized across all Brazilian regions. They marched to denounce numerous cases of femicide, advocate for popular agrarian reform, and express solidarity with the Palestinian population—a community currently facing an ongoing genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government.
São Paulo’s central region, Paulista Avenue, hosted the country’s largest act. Thousands of people marched in the rain to defend women’s rights. Among the ideas defended by the crowd, the most prominent were the defense of legalizing abortion, the denunciation of police violence in São Paulo, and solidarity with the Palestinian people. The cry “no amnesty” also echoed strongly in the metropolis.
“Once again, women are on the streets to defend their sexual and reproductive rights, the legalization of abortion, denounce Governor of São Paulo's privatizations, the genocide of Black people, which has been happening in Baixada Santista, the Palestinian genocide that mainly affects women and children and also ensure more funds for policies to combat violence against women," highlighted Luka Franca, Secretary of State of the Unified Black Movement (MNU, in Portuguese), one of the organizers of the mobilization.
Event at Masp, in São Paulo, brought together representatives of different movements / Caroline Oliveira/Brasil de Fato
In the city of Recife, people concentrated on Treze de Maio Park in the city center, followed by Armazém do Campo. The movement addressed violence, the need for abortion legalization, environmental racism, and opposition to privatization. Participants included student activists, unions, feminist collectives, indigenous representatives, the black movement, and the LGBTQIA+ community.
Elisa Maria, a member of the Popular Brazil Movement in Pernambuco state, summarized their mission: “We prioritize the lives of all women. We engage in dialog about Brazil’s urgent issues. While we secured victories at the polls, we continue to confront Bolsonarism and a state ideology that privatizes our water and public services. Women remain the most vulnerable victims of poverty and violence.”
The act occupied the central region of Pernambuco's capital / Afonso Bezerra/Brasil de Fato
In Brasília, approximately 300 women from the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) gathered in front of the Israeli embassy to denounce the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people and call for an immediate ceasefire in the bombings targeting Gaza.
"Free Palestine" calls for MST women in front of the Israeli embassy / Camila Araujo
"We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people because we understand that we are united in the fight for land. Our families, landless partners, poor farmers, in addition to rural workers were expelled from the countryside for the expansion of agribusiness. Our dignity gave way to millions of hectares of soybeans, corn, cotton and eucalyptus," said the movement in a statement.
The attacks in the Gaza Strip have persisted for five months, triggered by an earlier assault by Hamas—the armed Palestinian group governing the region—on Israel on October 7. Since then, Israel has claimed the lives of at least 30,717 Palestinians and left another 72,156 injured. Shockingly, among the casualties, 25,000 are children and women, according to the United States government, Israel’s primary ally.
The United Nations (UN) Women report that a staggering 85% of Gaza’s 2.2 million inhabitants have been forcibly displaced from their homes and continually pushed toward the border with Egypt—nearly a million of them being women.
Against femicide
Meanwhile, in São Paulo, around 200 women affiliated with the MST staged a demonstration outside the Conceito AMTT store, which serves as a reseller of weapons and cartridges from companies Taurus and CBC. Their protest spotlighted the alarming rise in femicide within the country, the concerning ease of access to firearms, and the troubling export of war materials to Israel.
Protest at a weapons dealer in São Paulo / Gabriela Moncau/Brasil de Fato
In 2023, 1,463 women fell victim to femicide in Brazil, according to the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook 2023, compiled by the Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP) and published on Thursday. This figure represents a 1.6% increase compared to 2022 and stands as the highest number ever recorded since the law criminalizing femicide was enacted in March 2015.
The report also highlights that firearms remain the primary instrument used in femicide cases across Brazil, accounting for 68.6% of incidents. In 2022, a staggering 783,385 people were registered as Collectors, Sports Shooters, and Hunters (CAC)—a sevenfold increase from 2018. Additionally, ammunition production reached 420.5 million last year, marking a 147% surge since 2017.
Meanwhile, women affiliated with the MST took action by occupying three National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra) headquarters. This initiative is part of the National Struggle Journey of Landless Women, which commenced on Wednesday. Approximately 1,200 militants converged on the state agency’s offices in São Paulo, Natal (RN), and Fortaleza (CE), rallying under the motto: “We will fight! For our bodies and territories, not one less!”
Incra (National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform) headquarters was occupied in São Paulo / Gabriela Moncau/Brasil de Fato
In São Luís, the capital of Maranhão state, mobilizations on March 8 began near the Palace of the Lions, the state government’s headquarters. However, the women participating in the demonstration faced obstruction by the Military Police. Undeterred, they persisted, filing a letter with the presiding judge of the state’s Court of Justice. The letter emphasized the impacts of the Land Grabbing Law.
There was police repression of the act in the city of São Luís / Mariana Castro
In Rio Grande do Norte state, landless women organized a powerful mobilization. They marched and occupied the state government’s headquarters in the city of Natal, showing both resistance and a demand for the government to prioritize their movement’s agenda.
A protest of landless women in Rio Grande do Norte state / Morgana Souza
In Mato Grosso state, hundreds of women from the countryside, forests and cities went to the state Legislative Assembly, in the city of Cuiabá, to protest against violence and demand agrarian reform this March 8.
Protesters at the Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso state / Vytoria Pachione
On the same day, approximately 500 families associated with the MST seized control of the “Aroeiras” farm in Lagoa Santa (MG). Their action was driven by the land’s failure to fulfill its social function, as the abandoned property remained unproductive. The MST fervently called for the area’s allocation to agrarian reform.
The MST occupied a farm this March 8 / MST-MG
In Paraná, over 500 rural workers participated in the Landless Women’s protest on Friday morning. They marched in the municipality of Porecatu, situated in the northern part of the state, as part of the ongoing Journey of Struggles of the Landless Women.
Hundreds of peasant women participated in the mobilization in northern Paraná state / Luana Menegassi / Comunicação Norte
Not to be outdone, women from the countryside, cities, and forests united in a powerful demonstration in Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo. Their collective voice echoed: “Enough of femicide!” The event also served as a poignant remembrance of the four fatal victims—all women—of a tragic shooting attack at a school in the Capixaba municipality of Aracruz in 2022.
Women took to the streets of the city of Vitória this March 8 / Levante Espírito Santo
Edited by: Thalita Pires
