Worldwide on January 21, the world came together to protest, to protect women's rights, but it wasn’t women’s rights alone that the march stood for. Other causes including gender equality, immigration, health care, abortion,environmental protection, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, freedom of religion, and workers' rights were well represented too. The Women’s March was brought into as an idea November 9th of last year, in reaction to Trump's election and political views. Although the march was directed and aimed towards Trump, one of its main goals was to spread awareness of the ongoing situations. Organizers said in a statement that the march was more than just about opposing Trump and "more about being proactive about women's rights", and taking "a stand on social justice and human rights issues ranging from race, ethnicity, gender, religion, immigration and healthcare"said Cassady Fendlay, a spokeswoman for the march.
The four co-chairs leading this movement include; Linda Sarsour, a director at Arab American Association of New York, Tamika Mallory, a political organizer, Carmen Perez, a director of the political group The Gathering for Justice, and Bob Bland, a fashion designer whose main focuses lies on ethical manufacturing. Originally planned as the Women’s March on Washington D.C., later turned into a worldwide event, with over 400 planned marches in the United States alone! Reports state that over 670 marches occurred worldwide in total.
What Occurred During the March?
Marchers in Washington, gathered at 9:00 am on January 21st, 2017 and chanted together "Welcome to your first day. We will not go away," The Women’s March was easily identified and marked as one of the biggest historical moments in Washington’s history. Many argue that the statement goes beyond Washington’s borders, and extended to a world wide historical moment, and if not worldwide than country wide.
Worldwide, men and women alike stepped forward to let their voices be heard. The numbers of people were extraordinary and without a doubt powerful, but the march was only one step out of many more to come.
As many protestors and signs said on that day, “Fight like a girl, and fight on.”