“We are strong, proud and not ready to be silent.” Riponne, Saint-Laurent, Palud, place de l’Europe, train station: this slogan has resounded throughout Lausanne. If the coronavirus upset the whole organization, causing the cancellation of the main marches and the decentralization of actions, it did not curb the fervor of the demonstrators. “It is a special and improvised March 8, but today’s mobilization shows that feminist demands are stronger than ever,” rejoices Tamara Knezevic, one of the organizers of the Vaudoise strike. Same enthusiasm everywhere in Switzerland.
At the end of the morning, women with scarves and purple pins hang the slogans, while a dozen men in solidarity carry a huge pot filled with couscous. The Place de la Riponne contrasts with the other, quieter sites. At La Palud, Jacqueline Choulat is waiting for her comrades to set up her stand. “Our goal is to inform young people about the challenges of retirement. Women’s pensions are lower than men’s due to part-time work and the wage gap, “said the 65-year-old retiree, a member of the Vaud collective.
Convergence of struggles
It is 2 p.m. An anarchist choir sets the tone, the strike is officially launched. “You have your rules? No, I just don’t like your face “,” She leaves him, he kills her “: the protesters’ panels color the crowd. Members of the Vaud Grève Collective roam the different places to state their demands: recognition of the work of care, regularization of undocumented migrants, inclusion of deaf and dumb women, end of discrimination against “racialized” women and LGBTI. This March 8 is meant to be inclusive.
In Saint-Laurent, feminist billboards sit next to the Extinction Rebellion flags, which have been dappled in purple for the occasion. No coincidence, since this place thematizes ecofeminism. “We stand in solidarity with the strike because our struggles are inseparable,” says an activist. We denounce a system that destroys the environment, the same one that oppresses women. ” Between the Starbucks and McDonald’s, 200 strikers are lying on the ground, to the sound of an “International” reshuffled with environmental demands.
Does protesting on a Sunday make sense? Yes, because “Sunday does not stop patriarchy,” says one of the organizers. “For mothers like me, it’s not a day off,” says Cécile. I work 34 hours a week in addition to taking care of my children. But I’m lucky: I have a committed husband. ” Before continuing: “I’m talking about luck, but it should be normal.”
“If in some couples there is a good distribution of tasks, our mental load remains higher. It is up to us to think about the meals and the daily constraints of children, insists a future retiree. In the 1980s, there were a handful of us mobilizing on the street. This mobilization has now grown considerably. ” The mobilization reached its peak at 3:24 p.m., a symbolic hour at which women are no longer paid like men. Drums resound in the Place de la Gare to accompany “Un violador en tu camino”, a Chilean flashmob against feminicides that has become viral. “Guilt is not on the side of women, but on rapists,” said Carolina, of the Vaud collective. The activist insists on the international influence of the strike. “As women, we experience the same discrimination everywhere.” Around 5 p.m., Place de la Riponne emptied, leaving “The International”, “Bella Ciao” and “So-so-so-solidarity, with women around the world” in people’s minds.
Created: 08.03.2020, 22h27
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