Today (8 March) is International Women's Day, and women in Brussels and beyond will mobilise to highlight the gender-based discrimination they face daily. But opportunities to participate in the action will continue beyond today too.
"When women stop, the world stops." This is the message from Collecti.e.f 8 maars, a coalition that believes strike action is the single most effective way to demonstrate society's reliance on women and the work they do, paid or not.
Feminist organisations have called on women to take Friday off work, whether it is unpaid domestic work, official employment or something else.
The Global Women's March will set off from Place de l'Albertine, near Brussels Central Station, at 17:30. There is an enormous range of events happening throughout the day too. A Grévibus ("strike-bus") will transport participants to different protests happening around the city from 07:00, such as in Anderlecht, Place Poelaert and Place Bethléem in Saint-Gilles.
International Women's Day in Brussels in 2023. Credit: Belga / Gabriel Mitran
Elsewhere, The Nine, Belgium's first female-focused members' club, is refusing to hold any events. Inspired by the 2023 "women's day off" strike in Iceland, the club will instead hold informal discussions between any women who wish to take part.
Demonstrations across Brussels are expected to cause "major disruptions" to public transport networks, according to STIB. The operator has advised passengers to choose different forms of transport as a result.
Official events after 8 March
Initiatives to fight gender-based discrimination will continue on into the rest of the month for Women's Rights Week.
From 8 to 15 March, the City of Brussels has organised a range of activities. These include workshops on economic inequality and financial management, debates about discrimination directed towards women from ethnic minority backgrounds, film screenings, theatre pieces, round tables and much more.
The week-long programme will finish up next Friday (15 March) with a guided feminist tour of Brussels and a creative event in collaboration with ZOART, a non-profit that promotes women artists from the Mediterranean.
Find more information about all the week's events here.
"Rape is a crime." Credit: Belga / Bernard Gillet
Separately, Brussels will hold a Biennale of Women in Art from 18 to 31 March. 'A Show of Resistance' will gather 25 women artists to showcase diverse artwork and inform visitors with workshops and debates.
Find more information here.
Climate and intersectionality
'Intersectional solutions for climate change: Women leading the change' is a conference combining multiple themes, which is taking place on Monday 11 March in Etterbeek.
With a focus on going beyond feminism that places white, heteronormative women at the centre of the narrative, the conversation aims to come up with solutions to climate change through exploring diverse perspectives.
Find more information here.
Women in music
Several events in the coming weeks will hone in on the particular challenges facing women in music. On Friday 8, Wednesday 13 and 20 March, Spanish experts will share their insights (as well as some live music) as part of the Instituto Cervantes' Mujeres en la Música series.
Find more information here.
