Women’s Day in Argentina, this March 8, will be marked by some flags, and by the relief of not having to carry others. Like, for example, the one calling for the abortion law, legislation finally passed on December 30, 2020.
The march that will take women to Congress Square will focus on other goals. One of them will be to encourage women to return to the streets to protest against domestic violence, for equal pay, demonstrating revolt against better-known cases of abuse, such as the one that paralyzes society today _the accusation against actor Juan Darthés, a refugee in Brazil , who refuses to appear to respond to a lawsuit brought against him by actress Thelma Fardin.
Another aberrant case, however, will be on the minds of all who march on that day. After all, it’s been less than a week since there was a herd rape in a popular square of bars in Palermo, during the day and in full view of several people.
The group of men (between 20 and 29 years old) had been accompanying a 20-year-old girl, who, according to street cameras and business in the region, was clearly drunk and in an altered state. The images allow you to reconstruct the episode with virtually no cuts. The girl is pushed into a car, while six boys take turns to abuse her. Those who were already helping themselves laughed and played a guitar, and then got back into the car. It took the action of some neighbors, who realized what was happening, and rescued the girl. A shopkeeper attacked the car with a broom, the boys were dragged into a store and the police were called.
The accused are under arrest and the girl, with her identity preserved, is doing well and is at home. But the
case scandalized society. It caused even more anger on the political side when the Minister of Women, Gender and Diversity, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, made statements along the lines of “humanizing boys”.
“It could be your brother, your neighbor, your father, your child, your friend or your co-worker. They are not beasts or animals. They are not a herd, nor are their instincts unstoppable. None of the cases that horrify us are isolated, they all respond to a cultural matrix”, said Alcorta.
In a clumsy attempt to explain himself, he said that he wanted to call attention to the need for a change in education, in the structure of Argentine society. But it was no use. Alcorta is one of the targets of the protests in recent days and will certainly be this Tuesday.
Another of the issues that women will take to the streets this Tuesday is the controversial agreement with the IMF, which is about to be voted on by the Argentine Congress and divides opinions, since it will mean adjustments and reforms, although President Alberto Fernández tries to minimize this issue.
