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Opinion 51 | Guest Column

Photogallery: Memory on the move

5 years of feminist resistance
Photogallery: Memory on the move
By Lorena Jiménez

In the last 5 years, the feminist movement in Mexico has echoed a wave of global mobilization that has left its mark on history. From Me Too in social networks that made visible the magnitude of systematic sexual harassment, to the Day Without Women that evidenced the weight of gender violence in everyday life. The pandemic by COVID-19 and the confinement with our aggressors, did not prevent the streets from becoming the scene of a collective cry.

At the regional level, the famous "pañuelazo verde" in Argentina, the hoods and naked torsos in Chile, resounded throughout the Latin American continent, prompting a forceful response in Mexico.

On March 8, a day on which the world turns its attention to women who fight for their rights, there are figures that challenge us. According to the Executive Secretariat, in January 2025, 54 women were victims of femicide. In those same 31 days, 4,568 women were victims of intentional injuries, while 163 more suffered the corruption of minors and 35 fell into the nets of human trafficking.

In the homes, 19,313 women faced family violence, a cruel reality that resonates in every corner of society and goes beyond those four walls. 21,684 women picked up their phones to call emergency numbers in a system that, although it listens to them, depends on the collective conscience to function.

In January 2025 alone, 496 crimes of gender-based violence were registered, 1,493 crimes of simple and similar rape.

These numbers are not just statistics, they are broken lives, dashed dreams, and an urgency we cannot ignore. In every issue lives a reminder that true justice will only come when all women can live without fear.

March in Mexico City's Zócalo. March 8, 2023. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
A woman holds the photo of her missing daughter at the 8M march: In December 2023, the Federal Government announced the revision and updating of the National Registry of Missing Persons, which included the modification of the figure of 110 thousand people registered as missing, to 12 thousand. March 8, 2022. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
On Juarez Avenue, a group of women form their own fence with intervened police shields, covered with hearts and flowers. Between shouts of rage and looks of determination, frustration and courage are captured in this scene. September 28, 2020. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
In Latin America, decorating hoods is symbolic and a form of protest. Mexico City. March 8, 2023. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
A woman with a green flare in hand as a group of feminists challenge the fence enclosing a monument in Mexico City. September 28, 2021. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
September 28, 2020. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
The other face of the black bloc: Mostly in images we see the black bloc breaking or burning structures. After seeing an elderly woman raise her sign, amidst tears and sensitivity, hooded women embraced her and offered words of support. September 28, 2020. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
March 8, 2023. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
March 8, 2023. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
March 8, 2023. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
Young women, older women, multiculturalism, hooded women. Beyond adjectives: women. Although the faces are infinite and diverse, the fight against gender violence is one. March 8, 2023. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
March 8, 2021. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
March 8, 2022. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
March 8, 2020. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
March 8, 2022. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
September 28, 2020. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
The diversity of feminism does not lie in the faces, but in the expressions of protest that each woman chooses to demonstrate, each act has behind it a context of gender violence, because we all have a story to tell. Through fire, graffiti, posters, music, or through the freedom to love, these are some of the traces left by the feminist struggle. September 28, 2021. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
September 28, 2020.Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
March 8, 2023. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
Security at feminist marches has been a constant focus of attention for human rights organizations and non-governmental organizations, there are different nuances: the Humanitarian Peace Brigade Marabunta has sought to deter possible violations of human rights, women police, on the one hand have had confrontations and clashes with feminist groups, and on the other, have received flowers, in contrast, the presence of male police has been questioned, especially before the demand for separate spaces for women. September 28, 2020. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.
In Mexico City, during Claudia Sheinbaum's term as head of the government, a police fence on Juarez Avenue encapsulated the feminist march for the International Legal Abortion Day for more than 5 hours. In front of the police fence, a foreign woman, bare-breasted, plants herself moved by the moment. September 28, 2020. Photo: Lorena Jiménez.

In a world in which the main aggressor of a woman is usually her partner, father, grandfather, uncle or brother, March 8 not only invites us to believe in the stories of women who dare to raise their voices, but to believe and bet on a future in which gender violence is just a bad memory, even though in our current reality, the feminist struggle is a reminder that as long as any type of violence continues to exist, our voices will continue to insist.

The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.

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