Why we march to Reclaim the Night

“We march to reclaim our bodies from the expectations placed on us by the multiple forms of persecution we face within society. We experience racism, and hate crimes motivated by that racism. We experience Islamophobia, and hate crimes motivated by that Islamophobia. We also experience sexist comments just as all women and girls do, and these comments are often shaped by stereotypes related to how we’re perceived.

We march to reclaim our bodies from the pressure to be one particular shape or one particular hue, to wear just the right amount of adornment to be judged attractive, but not too much in case we become a target for unwelcome attention and harassment – and people might tell us later that ‘we were asking for it’.

We march to reclaim our right to decide what we wear, be it hijab, niqab or anything else that we wear to show our devotion to our faith, or clothes we choose for comfort, for fashion, for our own self-expression.

We march to stand against all forms of violence against women and girls. We march for a world with no female genital mutilation, no forced marriage, no so-called honour-based violence, no coercive control within relationships, and of course, as we reclaim the streets, we march for a world with no rape nor sexual violence of any kind.”

Below is a list of some of the marches in Scotland this year: