MANILA (UCAN): Women advocates dressed in pink and purple shirts hit the streets of Philippine cities to join protest rallies marking International Women’s Day on March 8.
 
They sang, danced, and chanted slogans as they marched to demand justice for victims of killings, housing for the poor, equal rights, among other issues.
 
The protesters demanded justice and accountability for what they described as the slaughter of women under the 21-month-old administration of the president, Rodrigo Duterte.
 

Hong Kong (SE): An International Women’s Day conference, scheduled to be held on March 8 has been shifted to the headquarters of the Society of Jesus after former Irish president, Mary McAleese, was barred from attending the event which was to be held at the Vatican, La Croix reported on February 2.
 
The talk, Why Women Matter, is being organised by the Voices of Faith group which is seeking to show the Vatican that women “have the expertise and skills to play a full leadership role in the Church.”

VATICAN (SE): The Vatican sponsored its first Women Consultation Group to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8. The first gathering was made up of 37 women from a variety of fields including medicine, journalism, theology and politics, among others.

BUENOS AIRES (SE): An angry mob descended on the cathedral in Tucman, Argentina, on International Women’s Day, March 8, in what was described as a blatant attack on the image of the person of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The group staged a mock abortion on a woman dressed as the Blessed Virgin in the street outside the cathedral, using look-alike blood and baby parts coming from under the woman’s dress, local media reported.