The global United Nation theme for this year's International Women's Day was 'Women and men united to end violence against women and girls'.  http://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme/

In London the major celebration was 'Million Women Rise 2009',  http://www.millionwomenrise.com/ a women-only march to end male violence against women. It followed on from last year's march when around 5000 women and children marched through London. Its Co-ordinator, Sabrina Qureshi, was awarded the Emma Humphreys Memorial Award 2008 for her activism against male violence.

This year the numbers seemed rather smaller, despite the predictions of a much larger event, but it was still a lively event and one that made a greater impact with its route through London's major shopping streets - Oxford Street and Regent Street and across Piccadilly Circus to a rally in Waterloo Place.

As they marched the women chanted their main message: "However we dress, wherever we go, yes means yes, no means no!" and called for an end to male violence against women.

This was a national march with coaches bringing women from Birmingham, Bradford, Hebden Bridge, Wales, Nottingham and Todmorden as well as other groups coming from around the country. There was also a strong participation by Kurdish and Turkish groups based in London.

One of these groups marched behind the cycle powered 'chariots' at the end of the main procession, as it chose to follow the global theme rather than be a women-only event. Led by women and children, the European Confederation of Workers from Turkey (ATIK) Women's Commission group included men marching (as their placards proclaimed in Turkish) in a spirit of socialist equality, fraternity and freedom.

It was good to see right at the front of the march a group with a banner proclaiming themselves as Anti-Capitalist Feminists, who included one of those I'd photographed earlier in the day protesting in support of Turkish leather workers at Prada - and the woman photographer who had been there was also at this event taking pictures. ( http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/03/423729.html )

I left the march as it made its way down Regent Street, well before the rally at Waterloo Place.

More pictures on My London Diary shortly:
 http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2009/03/mar.htm#women