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Under the slogan "For our lives, we take to the streets again," nearly 1,000 trans women, lesbians, bisexuals, non-binary people, peasants, indigenous women, Afro-Paraguayan women, students, neurodiverse women, university students, journalists, communicators, teachers, researchers, sex workers, union members, artists, firefighters, and domestic workers took to the streets of downtown Asunción.

On November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, at 5:00 PM, diverse women gathered in Plaza Uruguaya . At 7:30 PM they marched to Plaza de la Democracia.

Despite the weather alert, the rain didn't dampen the spirits of those who came out to embrace one another and express their overlapping demands. On their bodies, their faces, their signs, the asphalt, their skin. In Plaza Uruguaya, people met, recognized each other, and danced to the rhythm of Aireana's tattooed song. But not everyone was there: Gabi Cabrera, the young trans woman who was found dead on November 11th on the banks of the San Lorenzo stream, was missing Days earlier, she had been the victim of a hate crime in front of a nightclub in the same city.

Also missing were the 42 Paraguayan women who were victims of femicide—34 in the country and 8 abroad, according to the Observa Violencia registry of the Equality and Non-Discrimination Observatory of the Center for Documentation and Studies (CDE). On August 19 of this year, the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the national emergency law on femicides was passed . This was due to the increase in femicides committed during the quarantine, in which many victims were trapped with their abusers. However, it has not yet received any funding for the implementation of these measures. The Public Prosecutor's Office receives 55 reports of gender-based violence per day nationwide.

Many names appeared this year : “Where is Lichita?”, “Without fear, we are many sisters in the struggle”, “My identity is my right”, “Lili lives, the struggle continues!”. The demands for justice piled up, with the faces of people disappeared, murdered, or who died from Covid-19 due to an absent state.

Dora Flecha, coordinator of the Paraguayan Women's Front Pyahurã, told Presentes : “For us as an organization, these kinds of marches are important, where women can come together to talk about the specific problems that affect us. And in this case, violence. On November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we took to the streets to condemn so much injustice .”

Trans women are murdered, and impunity kills them again.

While the march was led by the diverse organizations and identities that make up the Paraguayan Feminist Network, trans people marched in the first column of the mobilization. “Today we return to the streets to demand justice for Gabi and all the trans women who have been murdered,” says Mariana Sepúlveda, from the Panambi Association.

This was a political decision to highlight the escalating violence and hate crimes to which trans women are exposed . The "transvestite" movement also made its first appearance at a march, chanting: "We are not dangerous, we are in danger." Paraguay does not have a gender identity law or a law against all forms of discrimination. Furthermore, trans women are excluded from Law 5777, the Comprehensive Protection Law for Women against all forms of violence.

“As trans women, throughout our lives we have suffered state violence in all its forms against our identity. In Paraguay, there are still great challenges in guaranteeing and ensuring the enjoyment of rights for the trans community, with the persistence of discrimination, hatred, and prejudice . These attitudes violate economic, social, cultural, and even environmental rights, and place us in a more vulnerable social position,” stated the trans rights organizations in the feminist manifesto 25NPy 2021.

Upon arriving at Plaza de la Democracia, the demonstrators surrounded the Chakelarre collective, the "fire girls," who performed in the public space with dance and theater. The festival's opening was hosted by Noelia Díaz Esquivel, Violeta Acuña, and Yren Rotela, the first trans woman to host artistic activities at a feminist demonstration. 

“We demand real and concrete public policies regarding violence against all women, cis and trans. The General Budget of Expenditures must include the necessary resources for the real and effective implementation of the Comprehensive Protection Law for Women, against all forms of violence,” the trans collective stated in their manifesto.

The evening's main events revolved around the demand for justice for Gabi Cabrera : both Casa Diversa and Panambi paid tribute to their colleague, whose case remains unsolved by the Paraguayan justice system. In Paraguay, 63 transgender people have been murdered since 1989.

The feminist network Paro Mujeres Paraguay has been organizing the November 25th and March 8th marches since 2017. It is a collective space for women from both urban and rural areas, built collectively and through volunteer work. It brings together diverse organizations and self-organized women.