A group of about 30 activists marched in the heart of Kuala Lumpur to demand for women to be treated fairly.

They distributed leaflets to the gawking members of public, while chanting Malay-language slogans throughout the 15-minute march organised by the group Gerakan Pembebasan Wanita.

“Equal work for equal pay!” one slogan went.

“Women’s bodies are women’s rights!” another shouted.

“Stop oppression of women!” yet another slogan goes.

The group, who are predominantly women, also carried colourful placards with them.

One of them parodied the ‘Get out of jail free’ card from the tabletop game Monopoly. It reads, “Chance: Marry your rape victim, get out of jail free”.

Another said “Our rights are not for grabs. Neither are we!”. Yet another placard referenced the death of Sameera Krishnan, a transgender woman who was found shot and mutilated in Kuantan on Feb 23.

It said, “Her name is not pondan. Her name is not bapok. Her name is Sameera Krishnan.”

Both 'pondan' and 'bapok' are derogatory terms used in the Malay language to refer to transgender persons.

Meanwhile, through its leaflets, the group gave a list of 13 demands, including equal career, political, economic, social opportunities, reproductive rights, paid leave for periods and pregnancy, and the right for all workers to set up trade unions.

“In most places, the number of women who lose their jobs is twice that of men. More and more women are forced to continue their housework amid oppression, due to their economic dependency on men and the lack of welfare support from the government,” the leaflet read.

The march was held in conjunction with International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8 each year.

The group had departed from the Sogo Shopping Complex at about 11.10am, and gathered outside Bank Muamalat, near the Masjid Jamek LRT station, about 1.1km away

There, several members of the group gave short speeches, before adjourning to a nearby restaurant to hold a discussion regarding the origin of the International Women’s Day celebration.

Speaking to Malaysiakini after the march, Gerakan Pembebasan Wanita coordinator Shaqirah Shauqi said many people thought that International Women’s Day is a time to shower women with gifts of flowers, chocolates, and words of endearment, but this is not the case.

“Today the Gerakan Kebebasan Wanita is doing this to remember why International Women’s Day was held, which is because working class women held a strike that led to the Russian Revolution of 1917.

“We take up this struggle to honour this memory,” she said.

She said although many women at the time were illiterate, they were able to fight for progressive policies such as healthcare facilities for women and childcare facilities, which still exist today.

Despite this, women are still being victimised, such as the victim-blaming that often takes place following a rape crime, she said.