Women’s day: Mexico barrier turned into women’s memorial
Fencing erected to protect Mexico’s National Palace ahead of a planned march to mark International Women’s Day has been turned into a memorial. The names of hundreds of victims of femicides – murders of women because of their gender – have been painted on the metal fencing. The three-metre-high (9.8ft) barrier was put up to protect the palace “from vandalism”, the government said. Women’s groups say the government does not do enough to combat femicides. They also criticised President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for ordering the National Palace and the Palace of Fine Arts to be surrounded by barriers, asking what he as afraid of.
The president responded by saying that the barriers were put up “not out of fear, but to prevent provocations and to protect historic buildings”. Fury fuels historic women’s strike in Mexico. Mexicans post ‘beautiful images’ for murdered woman. In pictures: Women march against femicide. “Last time around, bombs were thrown against this historic building,” he said, referring to protests over the brutal murder of a seven-year-old girl in February 2020 in which slogans were sprayed on to the walls of the National Palace and petrol bombs lobbed against a door.(BBC)…[+]