Argentina abortion rights protest defies lockdown

Women demonstrated in front of Argentina's Congress building on Thursday to demand the legalisation of abortion.

Activists waved green handkerchiefs - the symbol of the abortion rights movement - in a protest that defied the government's ban on mass gatherings.

Some of them wore their handkerchiefs as face masks.

Protesters said the coronavirus lockdown was having a disproportionate impact on women, causing increased gender violence and job insecurity.

Abortion is illegal in Argentina except if the woman is a rape victim or if continuing the pregnancy would endanger her health.

In March, President Alberto Fernández promised to send a bill to Congress in support of abortion rights, but the issue was then shelved because of the coronavirus outbreak.