Adriana. Dulce. Paola. Nayeli. Ingrid. Maria — lots of Marias. These are just some of the names of the thousands of women killed each year in Mexico, often by their intimate partners.

Several hundred feminist activists warmed up with chants Saturday next to a monument to murdered Mexican women before filling a street in the capital and dousing female police officers with red paint.

Women's groups protested at cultural institutions in Mexico's capital ahead of Monday's International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, using painting, crocheting and breastfeeding to call attention to rampant violence and machismo in their country.