Women's March4Justice

March is Women’s Month. March 8th was International Women’s Day and throughout the month there are many other events highlighting a range of social and gender justice issues.

There were major March4Justice protests organised in all major cities (and elsewhere) around Australia on March 15th.

It was epic!

So I headed to the Brisbane protest to march!

I brought my own two-sided sign.

One side was super inclusive, the other a little more ‘confrontational’.

A friend called the controversial side the ‘the thinking person’s sign.’ GOLD!

Heaps of people said the loved the sign (both sides) and I go lots of COVID Hi-5s.

I wore parts of my 2019 International Women’s Day outfit (if you have not seen the whole thing – click here now) which is made out of bicycle parts and recycled materials.

It uses bicycle inner tubes, wheel spokes and bike parts, broken jewellery, second-hand objects and curb-side barbie dolls. The sash is reminiscent of a beauty pageant, yet echoes the idea that even though women may feel free to move (the barbies bodies swing – but only as I move), they are in many ways still ‘keep in line’ (strangled by the confines of the sash’). The blondes are at the top, while the brunette (representing any/every ‘other’) is at the bottom of ‘the beauty hierarchy’. The headpiece mixes themes of gender expectations, worship, money, sex, religion, plastic surgery and armour together into a quasi-tiara-cum-pagan headdress which is deliberately a little ‘off'(-set) and awkwardly constructed.

I wore this with my Frida Kahlo custom-made face mask and my Dark and Disturbing BECAUSE RACISM t-shirt – with my sign held high.

It was a good turn out and we marched strong.

It was very challenging hearing so many stories of disadvantage, abuse, injustice and oppression – difficult, but also very important.

There is so much that needs to change.

To find out where, when and why the protests were hitting the streets, Alicia Nally (ABC) here.

And some good commentary, Like Hayley Gleeson’s for the ABC looking at what happened after the protests as well.

Alyx Gorman wrote a good outline of the Australian protests for The Guardian wrote:

Across Australia, survivors and their allies will be calling for gender equality, and justice for victims of sexual assault, through a series of protests under the banner March 4 Justice.

The focal point of the protests will be a rally outside Parliament House in Canberra on 15 March, which many people have stated they are travelling from interstate to attend.

There, March4Justice organiser Janine Hendry alongside Dr Anita Hutchison and Dr Kate Ahmad from Doctors Against Violence Towards Women, will be presenting parliament with two petitions outlining both broad and specific requests for further action.

Outside of Canberra, there will be approximately 40 local events around Australia, starting in Perth on Sunday 14 March. Organisers are projecting that 85,000 people will participate across the country.

The protests follow a wave of allegations of sexual assault, abuse and misconduct in some of the highest offices of Australian politics.