Luxembourg City saw several thousand people take to the streets on Sunday afternoon as part of the traditional feminist march organised by the International Women’s Day (JIF) platform. Members of feminist organisations, trade unions, political parties, civil society groups, and private individuals joined the demonstration, marching through the city to highlight a wide range of injustices.
The International Women’s Day (JIF) acts as a coalition between different feminist organisations, trade unions, and civil society initiatives in Luxembourg,
International Women’s Day often focuses on equality in society, the workplace, and politics. However, this year, health and gender inequalities in this area were at the centre of the demands.
Maxime Miltgen, a member of the JIF platform and Luxembourg City councillor for the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), warned that full equality remains far from reality. She noted that global estimates suggest it could take at least 123 years before women and men achieve equality in all areas.
Luxembourg, Miltgen added, still faces many challenges. She explained that the organisers decided to focus on health because women remain disadvantaged in healthcare, research, and medication development.
According to Miltgen, the male body is still too often treated as the standard in medical research, while funding for research on women’s health remains insufficient, which has a significant impact on women’s health and quality of life.
According to the JIF platform, women are also more frequently affected by precarious living conditions, discomforting work, career interruptions, and violence, all of which can negatively affect both physical and mental health. Violence itself should also be considered a public health issue, said Cléo Thoma of the Center for feminism and gender (CID Fraen an Gender) during a speech at Place Guillaume II.
“Sexist, sexual, racist, and institutional violence destroys bodies and lives”, Thoma said.
She called for swift and easily accessible support for all victims, including free specialised trauma therapy without limits on the number of sessions, as well as particular attention for children who experience violence. She added that trauma leaves lasting effects on the body and warned that a society that tolerates violence ultimately creates illness.
Among other demands, the organisers called for greater recognition of women-specific conditions, such as endometriosis, and for the introduction of specific leave for chronic illnesses. The JIF platform also called for the creation of an independent commission to monitor cases of gynaecological violence and follow up on complaints.
In addition, the organisation demands that the legal time limit for abortion, which was enshrined this week as a constitutional freedom, be extended from 12 to 14 weeks.
