The color purple took over the main streets of Madrid. Thousands of women and allies holding up signs were waiting for the demonstration to begin. I have never seen so many people gathered together – people from all ages and backgrounds prepared for this rally to begin.

By Ajok Deng

In the Madrid neighborhood of Lavapiés, groups such as Mujeres Libres (Free Women) join anonymous street artists in expressing defiant resistance to the structures of patriarchy and the gendered violence that it generates. As part of our Weaving the Streets project, reporter Ajok Deng describes what she has been seeing on the walls, and in the streets, of Lavapiés.