Women’s Marches draw in thousands around world

Womens+Marches+draw+in+thousands+around+world

Mady Vasbinder, Reporter

This is a movement. It isn’t the beginning, and it is not the end, but that’s okay because these men and women are ready to fight for what they believe in. They’ve been ready for a long time.

This is, of course, the Women’s Marches.

A Review

On Jan. 21, more than five million people, of all ages, races, and genders, walked in Women’s Marches across the globe.

In the United States alone, there were more than 500 participating cities, and every continent had at least one march. The exact data is not known yet, but it is believed that these marches mark the largest demonstration in US history (womensmarch.com).

The marches came a day after the inauguration of Donald Trump, but were not held as a protest of his presidency. Though most of the people that marched do not agree with what Trump believes in, the marches were held in support of women’s rights, equality, and several other issues facing the world today.

At the marches, people walked through their cities carrying signs, singing songs, and listening to speeches. Bernie Sanders, United States Senator, spoke at a march in his home state of Vermont, and immediately gained praise for his words (New York Times).

The marches started as a single demonstration scheduled in Washington D.C., but the idea quickly spread across the globe. There were hundreds of these “sister marches” in the United States alone, and nearly as many were held in other countries, including in the U.K., where one was held in London with nearly 100,000 people in attendance (TIME).

In Michigan alone, there were at least four marches. They were in Detroit, with an attendance of about 4,000 people, Ann Arbor, with 11,000 people, Lansing, with 7,000 people, and Grand Rapids, with hundreds of people in attendance.

MHS Student and Faculty Involvement

MHS sophomore Eleni Wohl attended the march in Ann Arbor, which she learned about on social media.

“I thought it was really cool that we could all stand there in solidarity,” said Wohl about walking with her family. She marched with her mother and sister while her brother marched in New York.

“I feel that women of all races and religions, and people in general, deserve to be represented equally,” said Wohl, as one of the reasons that she marched. She also marched for Planned Parenthood, climate change, and “pretty much every other hateful thing.”

MHS teacher Karla Perez also attended the march in Ann Arbor and was astounded by what she saw.

“I wasn’t really prepared for some of the amazing things that happened,” said Perez, who got to walk with the crowd of more than 11,000 people.

“It was just amazing,” said Perez, “that that many people got out and expressed themselves, and there wasn’t any pushback, there were no interactions with police, there were no arrests, it was just peaceful.”

“The crowd was just incredibly happy,” said Perez, “It was a beautiful day.”

What’s Next?

These marches are not the end of this movement; the millions of people who were in attendance are ready to do more, and the founders of the Women’s Marches are already offering more ideas. To keep the momentum that was gained with the marches going, they are holding a 10 Actions 100 Days campaign, where a new action for everyone to participate in will come out every 10 days on their website.

Visit womensmarch.com for more information.