That was the beginning of the green tide, which reached Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil. It was in 2018 that, thanks to social networks, and the work and support of other Latin American feminists, the green scarf was noticed beyond Argentina, always accompanied by the premise "Sexual education to decide, contraceptives not to abort, legal abortion not to die". Thus, the scarf carries the historical burden of the South American country and honors the struggles led by women. Although there are several versions about why the color green was chosen, the most accepted is that back then in Argentina the color green was not associated with any political party or cause, so it was chosen to symbolize this struggle.Īnd why a scarf? Well, we must remember that on April 30, 1977, the Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo movement began, with which grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and daughters marched with white scarves on their heads to look for the disappeared of the dictatorship. But during the meeting, in which members of the National Abortion Campaign participated, purple was not the only color used by the militants. At that time the purple color was the one that was most related to the feminist movement. The green scarf was born in Argentina, in 2003, during the National Meeting of Women of Rosario. It is the green scarf, recognized for being an accessory used by feminists in Latin America to demand the legalization of abortion. In the midst of this, a familiar symbol for our region has taken center stage. House Democratic women march to the Senate before abortion vote, chanting “my body, my decision!” /4FW5xstnynįaced with this situation, in recent weeks women and pregnant people from all over the country have come out to protest and demand their right to decide about their bodies and their lives.
As the Guardian explains, “That green scarf was an allusion to the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo activists who wore white headscarves as they confronted Argentina’s vicious 1976-83 dictatorship over the disappearance of their children.” Argentina’s pro-choice movement gained early influence on social media in 2015, Argentinian journalist Marcela Ojeda tweeted using the hashtag “#NiUnaMenos” (“Not One Less”) to refer to Argentina’s disturbing pattern of violence against women, now commonly known as “ femicide,” the intentional, gender-based killing of women and girls. The green scarf was first used by Argentinian activists in 2015, in the early days of Argentina’s women’s movement. These green scarves arrived at Poland’s pro-choice protests thanks to social media, which has paved the way for nationally-focused activist movements to share symbols, tactics, and support across physical divides. Beyond painting their posters and faces with the Women’s Strike iconic red lighting bolt, many Polish protesters wore green scarves, a symbol drawn from Argentinian pro-choice activists. These restrictions ban the procedure except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman’s life is in danger. Carrying signs reading “The revolution has a uterus” and “My Body, My Choice,” pro-choice protesters took to the streets in Poland in January 2021 to rally against the far-right government’s newly enforced restrictions on abortions.