Women March on Brasília Seeking Equal Rights, More Representation

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s capital, Brasília, will be taken over by women this week. The two scheduled marches, one by indigenous women of Latin America and the other by rural women of Brazil, are expected to gather more than 100,000 women in the nation’s capital, said the organizers. Both marches seek better representation for women and equal rights.

“The 1st March of Indigenous Women aims to bring up discussions such as land rights, government policies, the violence of gender, machismo, and homophobia,” says Sonia Guajajara, executive coordinator of the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples Articulation (APIB), the group that organizes the march.

According to Guajajara, “the union of women is essential to ensure protagonism at a time when indigenous reserves are threatened to be taken away by the federal government and opened up to mining groups.”

With this first march entitled “Territory: our body, our spirit”, the group foresees debates on topics such as violation of rights and the political empowerment of indigenous women. Organizers say over 2,000 indigenous are expected to participate in this first-ever march.

On Monday, the first indigenous woman ever to occupy an elective seat in Brazil’s Congress, Joenia Wapichana, met with indigenous women from tribes in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America. “We can occupy all Brazilian spaces. We need to show our voice,” said Wapichana.

These indigenous women will join the Marcha das Margaridas (Daisy March), where more than 100,000 women peasant workers, from Brazil and 26 other countries, are expected to descend on Brasília on Tuesday. The Daisy March is the largest march held by women in Latin America.

The march, which takes place every four years, is in its sixth edition. This year’s theme is “Daisies in the struggle for a Brazil with sovereignty, democracy, justice, equality, and freedom from violence.”

“We have come to demand an end to racism and violence against women, to defend human rights and the environment, ensuring food sovereignty and preserving our ecosystems and biodiversity,” says this year’s call to action.

Throughout its editions, the March has become an important space and an important platform for rural women in Latin America to gain visibility, social, and political recognition.