Why 8M Matters for Women in Bogotá

8M Bogotá

Jasmijn Peeters, the co-founder of VozPa’Colombia, took part in the demonstration on March 8th in Bogotá in honor of International Women’s Day. She interviewed Lucifer, a 34-year-old woman living in the center of the Colombian capital, and asked her why she participated in the protest.

 

Lucifer:

“I took part in the March for Working Women on March 8th because I am one. I am a working woman, a woman from the neighborhood—not just from the city, but from the barrio. I am the daughter and granddaughter of working women. I marched to demand better working conditions, to fight for job stability and dignified work, because having a decent job means having a dignified life.

I also marched to show the rest of society that together we are powerful. When we come together as women, we are strong. We can create. We can cultivate a culture of resistance, and we can tell the system: no more violence, no more girls suffering sexual abuse.

The march is also about visibility—it’s about showing that there is a diversity of women here in Bogotá who are marching, demanding a life free from violence. It’s important because it serves as mass education. When thousands of us gather, we are teaching others. Those who see us on the news, on social media, from their windows at home, from the doors of their workplaces, from their bakeries, their pizzerias—they all see us, and they hear us. And through our presence, we are telling them: listen to us, because we are demanding an end to violence against women, against us.

The march is also a space for sharing knowledge. We distribute materials—newspapers, posters, information—so that more people can learn about our struggles. It is a moment of collective learning, of stepping out of our homes, out of our workplaces, and fighting for our rights. When we gather, we see each other, we support each other. Some women even march naked to send a message to society: our bodies are free.

There are also groups playing music, creating rhythms of resistance, turning our struggle into sound. There is an organized purpose behind the march. We speak about our pain, our demands, our fight. This is why it is important, and why I will always invite all women, all people, to organize, to unite, to build a better future and a more dignified life for all of us.”