International Women’s Day is only controversial for those who feel threatened by the idea of equality and freedom.

Perhaps that’s why, according to current statistics, women continue to fight and protest against the gender wage gap in Spain, as well as against violence against women. The national female unemployment rate is 17.4%, compared to 13.8% for men.

In the Madrid district of Ciudad Lineal, a vandalized mural of 15 pioneering women like Rosa Parks, Nina Simone, Frida Kahlo, and Billie Jean King must have appeared dangerous in some way to a group of (presumably) men – an enormous act of defacement of a painting that joined others that day around the city. The mural had been under threat for weeks, according to The Guardian.

Elsewhere in Barcelona, strident activist painters created new murals in Tres Chimeneas Park to celebrate International Women’s Day this past weekend. We’re pleased to share with you a selection of the murals painted for the occasion courtesy of BSA contributor Lluis Olive Bulbena.