International Women's Day in 8th of March, 2022 in Porto, Portugal.

International Women’s Day 2022, Porto

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Porto on Tuesday evening, 8th March 2022, as part of International Women’s Day.

Gathering in Praça dos Poveiros, in the centre of Porto, activists prepared signs to illustrate the social and political issues they were marching for. Starting at 6:30pm, more activists joined the march. A police escort made way for the march, as it passed through busy commercial centre Rua de Santa Catarina and continued on to Praça de Dom João I. 

​Born out of socialism, protest and a fight for labour rights, International Women’s Day emphasises the women’s rights movement, highlighting and campaigning against several social issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. Nowadays both an uplifting global celebration of the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women, and a human rights protest, International Women’s Day is an event commemorated in many main cities across the globe. International Women’s Day 2022 in Porto focused on issues including intersectional feminism, domestic violence and xenophobia on a wider scale, as participants also chanted “Our battle is every day, against sexism, racism and homophobia”. ​

Supporters of the LGBTQ+ community and anti-fascist activists also joined the march, taking the opportunity to protest against xenophobia and other gender-related social issues. Ukrainian flags also featured in the march, which was attended by hundreds of activists, showing solidarity with Ukrainian people during the current invasion of Ukraine. 

Signs held high by protestors read: “Hysterical? No. Historical”, “The revolution will not be silent” and “Well-behaved women never make history”, quoting Eleanor Roosevelt. Other homemade banners brought gendered and domestic violence issues to light, reading “Violence is not love” and “Stop raping us”.
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As they marched, activists shouted,“Our battle is every day, we are women and not commodities”, thunderous chants which reverberated off the streets of Porto city centre. Individuals from many walks of live stood shoulder to shoulder, campaigning to bring about political and social change. The energy of the march was explosive, and one message was certainly made clear: “We won’t stay silent. We won’t shut up”. 

Photos: Diogo Baptista
​TXT: Katie Giles Lawrance