'We Will Not Be Silenced!'

Women and their supporters gathered in Washington Square Park on Sunday, March 8 to mark International Women’s Day, though the event was billed on Facebook as the International Women’s Strike, subtitled Paro Internacional de Mujeres. Designed to evoke the holiday’s roots as a radical event started by female labor organizers in the 1920s, the strike featured workshops on sex workers' rights, the killings of women in Mexico and the indigenous Wet’suwet’en protests against pipeline construction in Canada.

In addition to speeches from leaders and thinkers, there were musical performances, interpretive dance and chants in both English and Spanish, including "We will not be silenced!" Though some were moved to tears by stories of struggle and hardship, the overall mood was one of determination and resolve. Women of different backgrounds came together in solidarity, exemplified by a performance of “El vilador eres tu” ("The rapist is you"), a Chilean protest anthem which accuses national institutions of enabling the victimization of women.