‘We have the right to be safe’: Women’s marches focus on Aiia Maasarwe’s alleged murder

Author : Sam Published: January 20, 2019

Updated

January 20, 2019 15:46:34

Thousands of women and men have marched through Australia’s capital cities calling for women’s equality and an end to gendered violence.

Key points

Protests were held in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide
Marchers were concerned about women’s equality and safety against violence
Crowd members spoke out against the alleged murders of Aiia Maasarwe and Eurydice Dixon

In Sydney, around 3,000 people gathered at Hyde Park where Indigenous leaders, survivors of domestic violence and women’s rights activists addressed the crowds before marching to Belmore Park.

Organisers said domestic violence was a key focus of this year’s women’s march, but many in the crowd carried signs referencing the alleged murder of Palestinian citizen of Israel Aiia Maasarwe in Melbourne’s north earlier this week.

Representatives from domestic violence groups and women’s organisations across the state addressed crowds at Hyde Park.

Host Yumi Stynes said there was a crisis of violence against women in Australia.

“We have the right to be safe, to claim our space, to be respected and have our voices heard — so I want to hear your voice right now!” she said, prompting cheers from the crowd.

Photo:
Ali Kitinas and Alexe Colvin, both 17, attended the march in Sydney. (ABC News: Lily Mayers)

Author Bri Lee said the death of exchange student Ms Maasarwe had hit home with its chilling similarities to the murder of Melbourne comedian Eurydice Dixon.

“[Aiia] was on the phone when she was taken, and it reminds me of when Eurydice was taken and she had texted her mate saying she was almost home safe and my inbox and my outbox are full of those messages,” she said.

Ms Lee revealed her personal experience of being abused in the backyard of her home.

“The statistics overwhelmingly demonstrate that perpetrators do not need a weapon, they do not need the cover of nightfall — the patriarchy gives them everything they need to perpetrate sexual and physical violence against us,” she said.

Photo:
Many protesters in Sydney carried placards referencing the alleged murder of Aiia Maasarwe. (ABC News: Lily Mayers)

‘I just want friends to walk home safely’

In Canberra, several hundred protesters chanted “women power” and held placards revealing why they chose to march.

Samantha Nolan-Smith became emotional when revealing her reasons for attending.

“I’m marching for the women who can’t,” she said.

“I’m thinking particularly of the death that happened this week and so many other women who have suffered from violence and who are dead.

“I don’t want my daughter to grow up in a world where she’s unsafe or she can’t pursue the opportunities she wants and I march for my son because I don’t want him to grow up in a world where toxic masculinity is acceptable.”

Photo:
Several hundred protesters gathered at Canberra’s Garema Place. (ABC News: Tahlia Roy)

Megan Daley, a youth and family worker, said she wanted to see a brighter future for Indigenous women and children.

“I’m marching because I’m a young Aboriginal woman,” she said.

“I know how poor our outcomes are, how unequal we are treated in Australia.”

Lola Bustamante-Gonzalez said she was a “proud feminist” marching to help protect women.

“I work with men who just joke around about women and it makes us feel little, and I want to stand-up for all women and tell them they’re valid,” she said.

“I just want my friends to walk home safe. I want them to be strong.”

In Adelaide, about 150 people attended an event outside Parliament House to remember the 69 women murdered across Australia last year.

Sixty-nine women stood on the building’s steps holding placards representing the lives lost as each victim’s name was read out.

Photo:
Sixty-nine women stand on the steps of Adelaide’s Parliament House, representing the number of women murdered across Australia in 2018. (ABC News: Rebecca Opie)