Two new bicycle and pedestrian bridges over the Brussels-Charleroi canal, linking Molenbeek and the city centre, have been installed.
The two bridges, both named after women, are located about one kilometer apart; at the level of the Count Of Flandres metro station and next to the Mima museum.
5,000 people from the general public voted in to choose the names, New Mobility reports. As a result, the bridge at the Count of Flanders metro station is named after women’s rights advocate Loredana Marchi, the current director of the Foyer de Molenbeek, a local NGO that has been working to integrate women in Molenbeek for 30 years.
The painted eel on the side of the bridge, aims to raise awareness of the need to protect the waterway and more generally the environment.
The bridge at the Mima museum is named after Moroccan sociologist Fatima Mernissi who devoted her life to feminist reflection and was one of the founders of Islamic feminism.
Speaking at the inauguration last weekend, Karine Lalieux, Minister in charge of Beliriris which financed the bridges, said: “These bridges are bridges between neighbourhoods and people.” Adding that “the canal is often seen as a rupture. Here, there is a link.”
The Brussels Times
