Women stop the Costa
Hundreds joined yesterday's (Thursday) demonstrations along the coast
HUNDREDS of people gathered outside Benidorm town hall at midday yesterday (Thursday) to join the Women's Day protests that took place in several countries. Similar demonstrations were held in other Costa towns at midday and larger protest marches were scheduled for the afternoon.
WOMEN across the Costa Blanca joined a nationwide strike yesterday (Thursday) to prove the ' world stops' should they abandon roles in the workplace and at home.
The mass protest was planned by the 8M Commission and marked International Women’s Day – with strike action being taken between 11.30 and 13.30 and 16.00 to 18.00.
The ‘ Feminist Strike' was also expected to affect town halls across the region after unions backing the action wrote to local authorities and government bodies saying women workers should have permission to take part – they must give advance notice before they down tools.
Protest organisers are demanding an end to discrimination and Spain’s macho-culture, and more action in tackling gender-based violence – 99 women were killed by their partners last year.
Thousands of women took to the streets of 49 cities across Spain last year but this is the first time a nationwide day of action has been called. High- profile figures were set to take part includ- ing Manuela Carmena and Ada Colau, the mayors of Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
The 8M Commission is an umbrella group of feminist organisations and said in its manifesto: ' Together today we will stop the world and together cry: Enough!'
Two of Spain’s largest unions, the Workers’ Commis- sions ( CCOO) and General Union of Workers (UGT), have lent their support to the action.
According to EU figures, women earn on average 14% less than male colleagues and also spend double the time on unpaid work than men.
In Benidorm and Torrevieja, there were gatherings outside town halls at noon, and similar events were scheduled in other Costa towns.
A gathering was held in Alicante outside the Mercado Central and a larger protest march took place from the same location at 19.00.
Our photo shows Costa News group staff before setting out to the Benidorm protest.