Spanish women stage unprecedented strike for rights

[caption id="attachment_227146" align="aligncenter" width="5568"] People march holding a banner reading "We stop to change everything" in Madrid, on March 8, 2018 during a one day strike to defend women's rights on International Women's Day./ AFP / Oscar del Pozo/[/caption] by Alvaro Villalobos Agence France-PresseMADRID, Spain - Spain marked International Women's Day Thursday with an unprecedented strike in defense of their rights that saw hundreds of trains cancelled and countless protests held. Called by 10 unions to demand gender equality, particularly where salaries are concerned, the 24-hour strike dominated headlines with famous female presenters noticeably absent from radio or television shows. This should be a starting point to change things. We are far from real equality," Maria Angels Pina, a teacher in her 60s, told AFP at an evening march in Barcelona attended by around 200,000 people according to municipal police. In Madrid tens of thousands of people, many holding purple ballons -- a color long associated with gender equality -- marched through the center of the city, holding signs that read "Justice!" and "Revolution." Across the country as women hung aprons on their balconies in a pre-arranged sign they were ditching domestic chores for the day. Feminist groups have also called on women not to spend money, particularly on items such as deodorant whose versions created for women often cost more. Spain's two main unions -- the CCOO and UGT -- were not part of the grouping that called the 24-hour strike but asked their members to stop work for just two hours on Thursday. They estimated that 5.9 million people had observed the short stoppage. The strike was attempting to emulate Iceland's 1975 work shutdown, when women took a day off in October to demonstrate their vital contribution to the country's economy and society. Pilar Lahoz, a 35-year-old office worker who carried a sign that read "Without us the world stops" at the protest in Madrid, said she has struggled to change jobs because potential employers rule her out when she says she is planning on having children. "While we have advanced a great deal there is still much to do," she told AFP. The strike comes as countries around the world mobilized for #InternationalWomensDay, a worldwide trending topic on Twitter, and comes hot on the heels of #MeToo and #Timesup campaigns that went global with allegations of sexual misconduct in Hollywood. Countless sarcastic memes circulated on social media and mobile messaging apps, with one video showing a man desperately trying to start a vacuum cleaner, pulling at the retractable plug cable like he would power up a lawnmower. [caption id="attachment_227147" align="alignnone" width="3280"] Thousands of people march down Gran Via street in Madrid, on March 8, 2018 during the one-day strike. / AFP / Oscar del Pozo/[/caption] Spain fights hard Spain is a leading country in the fight for women's rights and against gender violence, even though much remains to be done. In 2004, for instance, the then-Socialist government approved a law on violence against women that the European Council has upheld as an example to follow. The groundbreaking legislation set up a hotline that would not appear on users' phone bills, offered free legal aid and established special courts for victims. Last year, though, 49 women died at the hands of their partners or ex-partners, an increase on 2016 when 44 were killed, official statistics show. Women earn 14.9 percent less than men in Spain, slightly better than the EU average of 16.2 percent, according to the bloc's statistics agency Eurostat. It was not yet clear how many Spaniards went on the 24-hour strike, but trains on the Madrid and Barcelona undergrounds were less frequent than usual. Meanwhile, more than 300 intercity and long-distance trains were cancelled throughout Spain. Deputy PM speaks out High-profile women politicians have also spoken out strongly against inequalities. Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria on Wednesday spoke of the discrimination she has suffered: "There are still many things that need changing because even as deputy prime minister you experience unacceptable sexist behavior." Famous actresses such as Penelope Cruz and Rossy de Palma were also striking, with Cruz canceling planned events and letting her partner Javier Bardem take care of their two children. Barcelona's city hall, led by Mayor Ada Colau, hung up a purple banner reading "Barcelona city hall supports the feminist strike." On Madrid city hall, also led by a woman mayor, Manuela Carmena, banners read "Now is the time for real equality" and "Now is the time to end gender violence."