CAMPAIGNERS called for the “Day of the Dead” celebrations to draw international attention to a rise in the number of women murdered in Mexico and impunity over gender-based violence.

Activists are pressing for October 24 to be officially declared Dia de Muertas to mark the three thousand femicides that occur in Mexico each year.

Yesterday was the first day in the week-long celebrations which sees each day designated to a specific cause of death. 

While October 28 is dedicated to victims of violent death, human rights organisations and women’s groups believe that one of the days should remember those who are killed just because they are women.

According to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography more than 22,450 murders took place between 2007 and 2016 with young women dying every four hours by violent means.

Organisers said: “In Mexico, every year from October 25 to November 2 is celebrated as the Day of the Dead. There is a day for each cause of death but until now none of them expressly dignified women who are killed by the mere fact of being so.

“Mexico and the world can no longer afford the levels of violence against women. In Mexico, femicide is an endemic scourge in some regions and states, with figures unparalleled in other countries of the world.

“They are murdered just for being women. Therefore, we ask for your participation and involvement as a human being, whether you are a man or a woman, whatever your ideology, religion or social condition.”

Dia de Muertas activists said their fight was “not only for women, but all of us,” encouraging people to wear purple and paint their lips violet leaving lipstick on the memorials to remember the three thousand women killed each year.