Hundreds of citizens joined the March 8 protest march in Skopje today under the slogan “We Will Not Disappear.” According to the organizers, this year’s march was the largest held so far to mark International Women’s Day.
Participants carried banners with messages such as “Endure it, report it, die,” “Verdict: You are guilty of complicity in a crime,” “The abuser stays home while the victim seeks shelter?”, “Safe city, unsafe women,” and “Cameras watch, institutions look away.”
The march began with a minute of silence for Ivana and Katja, the mother and daughter who recently died after prolonged domestic violence by the husband and father, Stojanche Jovanovski.
Speakers at the event stressed that femicide does not begin with the final act of violence, but much earlier.
“Femicide begins long before the last blow. Domestic violence must be a priority for every institution. Yet we often hear perpetrators say with a smile, ‘She asked for it herself.’ How can institutions ask women to report violence if they later withdraw complaints or fail to act?” speakers said during the march.
Participants also called for justice for Ivana, Katja, Rosica, and Ramajana.
During the speeches, some participants also booed Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski.
The march started at Woman Fighter Park, continued through the Rekord area and past the Government building, and ended at the pedestal of Macedonian partisan Vera Jocić. Her statue was stolen in December last year and has not yet been replaced.
Participants laid flowers at the site in honor of the women fighters who dedicated their lives to women’s freedom.
