Healing, Resistance, and the Power of Walking Together

 

#8M in Madrid truly opened my heart. It’s been a long time since I’ve been surrounded by so many people who share my values—who see the world as I do, who believe in justice for all. Walking together, dancing together, talking together, and chanting together—it all has a deep healing power.

As someone who has survived domestic violence and done the hard work of healing, this march meant even more. Violence against women—all women, including our trans sisters—is relentless. And in a time when toxic masculinity is still being glorified by men like Andrew Tate, Elon Musk, and even the so-called leader of the free world, I worry for my three girls.

I’m grateful to have a partner now who understands his privilege—who works every day to model a different kind of masculinity. One where men take responsibility for their emotions, unlearn harmful patterns, and heal from the trauma inflicted by unhealed men. Because it’s a precarious time for women.

Our rights are being rolled back. Women are being pitted against each other. Even within feminism, there are those resisting intersectionality—clinging to fear instead of opening to justice. That was starkly clear in Madrid, where two marches took place: one that was trans-inclusive, anti-racist, and deeply rooted in collective liberation; and another that was exclusionary, driven by anxiety and protectionism.

But standing in the midst of thousands, feeling the energy, the solidarity, the hope—we created something powerful together. Across ages, races, genders, and abilities, we found connection. And in a world that feels increasingly divided, that alone is an act of resistance.

I did my master’s in Human Rights Frameworks because they help us navigate the complexity of equity. They push us beyond fear and scarcity, reminding us that migrants, refugees, the Rainbow community—those who don’t fit into the structures we’ve built since World War II—are not threats, but people we can learn from, uplift, and stand beside.

The hard truth is, the very rights that movements fought for over the last 80 years are being challenged again. So what are we doing about it?

Are we teaching our children that power and success are not about domination and wealth? That real success is about healing, looking after our people, and dreaming of a world that doesn’t harm the planet or each other?

Reframing success. Honouring the movements that came before us. And refusing to go backwards.

These were the thoughts running through my mind as I marched. Walking with thousands. Walking with those who grow, birth, nurture — despite of the men who have yet to truly become men because they are still trapped in a childlike belief that their worth is measured by their bank balance and their ability to bully others into submission.

There is another way. And we must keep walking toward it.

💜💪 #IWD2025 #WāhineToa #StrongerTogether #TransInclusive #AntiRacist #JusticeForAll #ReframeSuccess