Just one day after the United States presidential inauguration, around the world, people gathered together in many cities on one day to protest for gender equality. Many wore pink “pussyhats” and carried signs displaying messages of rights for all and their reasons for marching. This mission was the Women’s March.
The Women’s March took place on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. The main march took place in Washington, D.C, but there were many sister marches that took place throughout the country and the world, from France to Israel to New Zealand.
According to the march’s website, the purpose of it was for people, especially women to “stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health and our families – recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.”
The marches were peaceful protests aimed to send a message of ways to move forward after the inauguration and advocate for a variety of different minority communities.
Many Cabrini students and faculty participated in marches, both in Philadelphia and in Washington, D.C. Sophomore biology major Dessire Rosario and junior criminology major Kyisha Bright were two of the students who attended the march in D.C. despite the fact that many people had planned to attend the event for months, attending the march was a last-minute decision for them.
“I got invited the night before at 12:30 in the morning and I said sure. I had nothing to lose,” Bright said.
Going to the march was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of the people who attended. It also allowed for unity between the people there who had never met each other before.
“I freaking loved it,” Rosario said. “We went with a group of students and walked into the eye of the hurricane. We were greeted with acceptance and other people who shared what they believed in.”
“I freaking loved it. We went with a group of students and walked into the eye of the hurricane.” – Dessire Rosario
The Women’s March is predicted to be the largest demonstration in U.S. history. An estimated 500,000 people attended the Women’s March on Washington and an estimated 4.8 million attended marches worldwide.
Even after the marches ended, the aim for progress still continued. The people who organized the Women’s March on Washington came up with a campaign called 10 actions/100 days. For every 10 days in the first one hundred days of President Trump’s presidency, action will be taken on a particular issue. These issues include contacting senators to go against Trump’s Supreme Court nominations and protesting against executive orders.
People who wish to become a part of the 10 actions/100 days campaign can do so by hosting or joining an event. To learn more, sign up to host an event or find events near them, they can go to the campaign’s website.
