Dorset Palestine Solidarity Campaign march with students

Protesters took to the streets in Dorchester today in support of Palestinians on International Women's Day, including students from the Thomas Hardye School.

It was the most recent of several planned walkouts from some of the school's students who have led Dorset contingents on marches in London and locally in Dorset.

The students marched on International Women's Day to highlight the plight of pregnant women in Palestine (Image: Andy Potter Photography)

The students marched from their school through Dorchester to Shire Hall, the scene of the trial of Martha Brown, the last woman to be publicly hanged in Dorset.

They chose the rallying point as a symbol of the struggles against social injustice.

This protest is the latest in string of marches that have taken place in Dorset to call for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Poppy, one of the student organisers, said: "On International Women's Day, it is important to recognise that women and children in Gaza are bearing the brunt of this conflict."

She said 70 per cent of the 30,000 killed have been women and children and that "two mothers in Gaza are killed per hour".

Naira, a school student from another Dorset school told the rally she was in touch with Palestinian friends on the West Bank.

She said: "They are sending their thank yous and appreciation for what you have done today. You have personal thanks from people who are living under occupation."

Dorchester student from Thomas Hardye School marching to Shire Hall (Image: Andy Potter Photography)

The students were also welcomed by Tamsin Little, a manager at Shire Hall, and were addressed by Lynne Hubbard, a local health worker.

She spoke of the 60,000 pregnant women in Gaza who face malnutrition while surgical procedures, including caesarean sections are conducted without anaesthesia.

She told the protestors that 183 women were estimated to give birth daily in Gaza, of whom 15 per cent were expected to need additional medical care due to pregnancy or birth-related complications that was unavailable due to Israel's bombardment.

Students from Thomas Hardye School marched through the streets of Dorchester to protest the war in Gaza (Image: Steve Pallant)

The students joined up with campaigners from the Dorset Palestine Solidarity campaign who have been calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and militant group Hamas.

A spokesperson for the campaign group said: "School students from Thomas Hardye school walked out in solidarity with Palestinian women on International Women's Day, demanding Ceasefire Now and an end to Israel's genocide in Gaza."

Dorset Palestine Solidarity protest outside McDonald's in Weymouth (Image: Dorset Palestine Solidarity Campaign)

On Saturday, March 2 campaigners walked from the Jubilee Clock in Weymouth McDonald's at the Jubilee Retail Park, in response to the fast-food chain's Israeli franchises' support of Israeli soldiers. 

On open letter was delivered to the Weymouth franchise owner calling for McDonald's to cease its support of Israeli soldiers, which it says are complicit in genocide.

Protesters were welcomed in to the restaurant to talk to customers and staff about why they were calling for a boycott of the burger chain.

This came just weeks after another protest outside a branch of Barclays bank in Dorchester which the DPSC says is ‘bankrolling’ Israel’s war with Hamas.

In November, members of the DPSC also travelled up to London to take part a protest, which saw hundreds of thousands march from Hyde Park to the US embassy in Vauxhall.