Waves of protests engulfed much of the world in the past month. Hundreds of thousands marched across cities in France, Israel and Iraq, demonstrating against unpopular constitutional and political changes. Angry protesters also took to the streets in Kenya, Lebanon, Tunisia, Germany and Indonesia, among others.
The demonstrations were fuelled by different demands. For example, Israel saw one of its biggest protests over the government’s proposed overhaul of the judiciary. The reforms proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government would curtail the authority of Israel's Supreme Court and give greater power to politicians in appointing judges. Opposition groups and demonstrators described the changes as a threat to the country’s democracy.
France on the other hand witnessed weeks of mass protests and industrial strikes over a controversial pension reform. The protests descended into violent clashes between police and demonstrators in large cities such as Paris and Nantes after President Emmanuel Macron forced through a change to the retirement age without a vote in parliament, raising it from 62 to 64. The move was largely opposed by unions.
In Iraq, people turned out to oppose changes to the country’s parliamentary and provincial elections law that would bring back a voting system that benefits large parties.
On a much smaller scale, dozens of Afghan women protested in Kabul on International Women’s Day to demand more freedoms and rights. While in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, the animal rights group Peta protested against animal cruelty.
With no sign of demonstrations slowing down in the coming weeks, The National looks back at some of the biggest that have taken place in March.
