Women protesting around the world – in pictures

Kiev, Ukraine: a protest by the campaign group Femen against the absence of female ministers in the Ukrainian cabinet Photograph: Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Mumbai, India: textile mill workers at a march calling for work after many were made jobless during prolonged strikes in the early 1990s Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images

Male, Maldives: a protester peers through riot shields during a rally. Opposition MPs in the Maldives have prevented the new president, who is accused of seizing power in a coup, from opening parliament Photograph: Ibrahim Faid/AFP/Getty Images

Syria: a Syrian anti-government protester. Syria has faced mounting international criticism over its bloody crackdown on the uprising Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Madrid, Spain: students demonstrate against austerity measures in education. Students across Spain staged sit-ins and noisy demonstrations over crisis spending cuts, labour market reforms and recent police violence against protesters Photograph: Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images

La Paz, Bolivia: a woman clashes with riot police during a protest by hundreds of disabled people in La Paz to demand government support Photograph: David Mercado/Reuters

New York, US: a protester is arrested outside Bank of America. Occupy movements across the country are holding protests in dozens of cities against corporate power Photograph: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: a supporter of the Lavalas movement and its leader, the former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, protests against the current president, Michel Martelly Photograph: Swoan Parker/Reuters

London, UK: a woman wrapped in a duvet keeps warm as riot police prepare to remove protesters from the Occupy encampment in front of St Paul's Cathedral Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

São Paulo, Brazil: a woman lights candles during a protest over the death of the cyclist Juliana Ingrid Dias. Dias was hit by a bus at Avenida Paulista on Friday. About 50 cyclists are killed each year by traffic accidents in São Paulo Photograph: Nacho Doce/Reuters

Rome, Italy: a supporter of the No Tav (no to high-speed trains) movement takes part in a demonstration organised by residents of the Susa valley, who say construction of rail tunnels would damage the environment Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

Syria: a woman holds a machine gun during an anti-government demonstration Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP

London, UK: a small demonstration against the sale of foie gras at Fortnum and Mason as the Queen, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge visit the department store Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

Gostivar, Macedonia: ethnic Albanian women hold the pictures of two murdered Albanians during a protest against police brutality. A Macedonian police officer who was not on duty killed two young people, members of the Albanian minority, in the ethnically mixed city of Gostivar Photograph: Georgi Licovski/EPA

Srinagar, India: Kashmiri Muslim workers demonstrate against the government during a one-day general strike Photograph: Dar Yasin/AP

Bogota, Colombia: members of the Network of Women take part in a march to protest against discrimination and violence against women. The march is part of the protest movement that began as a SlutWalk Photograph: Fredy Builes/Reuters

St Petersburg, Russia: police detain a protester after Vladimir Putin's election victory Photograph: Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters

Kuala Lumpur: a Syrian woman living in Malaysia displays her chained hands during a silent protest against the killing of civilians in her home country Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images

Barcelona, Spain: a woman runs for cover as riot police clash with students during a demonstration against education cuts Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images

Manila, Philippines: protesters march towards the department of energy to demonstrate against another round of oil price increases, the ninth this year, by the major oil companies in the country Photograph: Bullit Marquez/AP

Dakar, Senegal: women take part in a peaceful protest calling on the Senegalese president, Abdoulaye Wade, to withdraw his bid for a third period in office on the final day of the presidential election campaign Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

New Delhi, India: women join a protest before International Women's Day. The women were demanding revision of the government's lowest benchmark for poverty and improvement in the status of women Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

London, UK: a woman shows her solidarity with Occupy protesters who were evicted from outside St Paul's Cathedral after the court of appeal refused them permission to challenge the order Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Corbis

Yakutsk, Russia: supporters of Vladimir Putin celebrate his victory in the presidential elections in Siberia Photograph: Reuters