Women’s Liberation
Women Against the Far Right had a vibrant bloc
By Jude Mckechnie
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Saturday 07 March 2026
Issue
They protested the lack of action to stop violence against women and girls
Thousands took to the streets of central London for the 19th annual Million Women Rise march on Saturday.
The Million Women Rise coalition is a black, global majority led women’s collective. It aims to end all forms of violence against women and girls.
Misogyny is a toxic and pervasive stain on our society. It continues to shape the lives of women all around the world every single day. The rise in gender-based violence and attacks on reproductive rights show that we are at a dangerous junction.
Now, Western politicians are dropping bombs across the Middle East and trying to frame it as women’s liberation. It is more crucial than ever that we fight back.
The march brought different women’s organisations together with activists and campaigners to protest the lack of action to address violence against women and girls.
There was a feeling of solidarity and exhilaration at the power of being with other women, coming together to fight for liberation.
Women sang and chanted at the top of their voices “Women got the power” and “Say it once, say it again–no excuse for violent men.”
Melissa attended the march. She told Socialist Worker this was the first protest that she’d been on for women’s rights and that she was angry about the rise of the far right.
She said, “I feel like I can’t stand by anymore. With the rise of fascism, I have to say something. People who believe in equal rights and who believe that the far right is not a force for good can’t sit at home any longer.”
Fenella said that she’d joined the demonstration because she wanted to fight the feeling of hopelessness at the rise in gender-based violence and attacks on hard fought for rights for women.
“In the United States, abortion rights have been rolled back and in this country trans women’s rights are getting attacked. Today feels like an opportunity to come out and make ourselves seen and heard.”
Cheryl is a member of the NEU education union. She was one of many teachers who had shown up to the march.
She told Socialist Worker, “I have a lot of women really close to me who have been victims of violence at the hands of men. I’m a teacher and I run a women’s rights club at the school I work at. Those young women inspire me every week we meet up.
“The world can seem a lot more toxic now than it ever was. But at the same time, what I’m seeing is more women, and young girls especially, standing up for themselves and not accepting anything less than what they deserve. That’s really inspiring to me.”
Naima had come out with her mum and her daughter. “I hope for my daughter that in our lifetime we’ll live in a world where women everywhere are free,” she told Socialist Worker.
Women Against the Far Right (WAFR) had a vibrant bloc on the march.
Rimaz Ahmed from WAFR spoke at the rally in Trafalgar Square. She said that the real tradition of International Women’s Day (IWD) was about celebrating how far women’s rights had come and the activists who made that progress possible.
“But IWD is not only a celebration. It is also a reminder that if we don’t continue to fight for our rights, then the far right and racist and sexist political parties will roll them back.”
She told the crowd, “We must fight back against Reform UK, who utilise the language of feminism, claiming that their racist scapegoating of migrants and refugees is to protect women.
“They do not care about women, they don’t care when refugee women are forced onto dangerous journeys because borders are closed to them. They don’t care when migrant women are exploited in low-paid work that keeps our economy running.
“Because their politics was never about women’s liberation. It is about protecting a system that profits from division, exploitation and inequality.
“But our liberation cannot be separated from that of working class women, of migrants, of refugees. Our liberation does not come for division. It comes from unity. And that’s why we must organise.”
