She is 16 years old and this March 8, 2023 is her first march. She asked her friends and acquaintances who would attend the call to demonstrate this International Women's Day, however, all her friends were undecided about going. Finally she decided to attend with an acquaintance.
Although she is open to giving interviews, she prefers not to say her name for fear that something might happen to her. Because of this, throughout the text we will use the fictitious name of Ana.
The sun hits her eyes, making her marvel at the sight of thousands and thousands of women walking down Reforma. As soon as she reaches the avenue, she takes out of her backpack the sign she had prepared the night before and which says: “Don’t forget Sofia.”
After a few questions, Ana explains that two years ago her friend Sofia, who was also 14 at the time, disappeared on the way from her home to the school where she was studying, in San Juan de Aragón, northeast of Mexico City. She and her friends organized small marches in the neighborhood to demand that the authorities properly investigate the case.
A little confused by the legal terms, Ana explains that as far as she knows, the culprit of Sofia's disappearance has already been identified, but they are waiting for him to be arrested and imprisoned. She is a little saddened to think that due to her young age, when Sofia disappeared, she could not do more to help her friend.
One of the most moving moments of the march is when Ana stands on the sidewalk watching the march go by and raises her sign. Her small figure with a large piece of cardboard draws the attention of the contingents who, after seeing what she says, begin to shout: "We're not all here, Sofia is missing!" repeatedly.
Ana's arms tremble, she is about to lower them but she holds back the urge to cry, she fidgets and does not lower her sign. After a few seconds, tears run down her cheeks but the sign remains up, unmovable. A purple protest in the middle of the burning asphalt of Mexico City demanding justice.
Shortly afterwards, two young women approach her and hug her. All three are young, none of them older than 20, but they have already spent their entire lives surviving in a country where women are victims of femicide on a daily basis.
According to official figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System of Mexico, in 2022, 948 cases of femicide and 969 victims were recorded throughout the country, which is equivalent to an average of 2.6 women murdered per day.
However, the official figure is very different from that of the National Citizen Observatory of Femicide (ONCF), which brings together 40 organizations from across the country and specializes in monitoring how violence develops in Mexico.
According to the ONCF, "the year 2022 closed with 3,755 murders of women, of which only 968 cases were recognized as femicide, that is, only in these cases were gender reasons proven, the rest - 2,787 - were classified as intentional homicides, not counting the "suicides" that are not investigated as femicides.
Despite the fact that there is an underreporting of femicide violence in Mexico, officially in 2022, 10.28 women were murdered on average every day.
In the face of the various debates about the figures, the different feminisms and those who fight for women's rights agree on one thing: the focus should not be on the figures because no woman should be killed for the fact of being a woman.
The common denominator of the marches of recent years has been the presence of, mainly, young people, women who have decided to rebel against the impositions of an unjust system and who have not only taken to the streets but also to workplaces, schools, family dinners and any space to demand their rights.
You may be interested in: Photographic account of the 8M 2023 march in CDMX
