The body of Mara Fernanda Castilla was found near a motel in the central Mexican state of Puebla on Friday after she went missing a week earlier.
In a statement, Puebla authorities said they believe she was killed by a driver from the taxi-hailing application, Cabify. She had used the app on the night of September 8, but never arrived to her destination.
The driver of the vehicle has since been arrested and officials say he will be charged with femicide.
The news of Castilla's death stoked anger across Mexico, prompting civil society groups, activists and community members to organise marches on Sunday in support of Castilla and other victims of femicide. 
"Sexual violence against women is constant and it happens on a daily basis in Mexico," Tania Reneaum, the executive director of Amnesty International Mexico, told Al Jazeera. 
"We marched not only for Mara, but for so many women who have been killed," Reneaum said, referencing the recent deaths of 22-year-old Lesby Berlin Osorio in May and 11-year-old Valeria Teresa Gutierrez in June.
Martha Violante, who marched in Mexico City, said: "Femicides are a serious problem in our society since the government's response has not been enough."
Thousands in the capital chanted in Spanish: "They will tremble, they will shake, because machismo has got to end ... Do not stop applauding, do not stop applauding, machismo must die."
Andalusia Knoll Soloff, a journalist who also attended the Mexico City rally, said several protesters were marching for the first time.
Mara Castilla's family members march in Xalapa, Veracruz state.