Similar events are being held in cities including Calgary, Fredericton, Nanaimo, Yellowknife, Saskatoon, across the USA and in more than 50 other countries, organizers say. The event, held one day after Donald Trump takes office, will be led by civil rights activists, who are championing for women’s rights. The march is expected to draw between several thousand to as many as several hundred thousand participants from around the country.
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It is not officially an anti-Trump protest, though many in attendance likely share the sentiment. Silvia Macor, one of the event organizers for the Women’s March on Washington-CNY Section, said the organization expects at least three full buses to head to the nation’s capital on Friday.
She’s a Muslim-American, a woman, and a mom-and after this year’s election, she says she’s visibility and accountability are two of the reasons she’s participating in the Women’s March on Washington. “We apologize for this error”, the statement added.
The night Donald Trump was elected President, a grandmother from Hawaii posted a late night missive on Facebook.
She says she voted for Hillary Clinton, and has been a part of rallies for women before.
“I know a lot of people are because I am just so fearful of the incoming administration”.
Katie Angus said taking part in the event feels like being a part of history.
Advertising for the march had described it as “inclusive” and celebrating “diversity”, but it now appears that only extends to those who support abortion.
The Women’s March will send a bold message that women’s rights are human rights, regardless of a woman’s race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, sexual identity, gender expression, economic status, age, or disability. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us… “We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities”.
“We’re not just pro-lifers who are also feminists”, Herndon-De La Rosa said.
Controversy arose among event participants after a January 15 article in The Atlantic included statements from event organizers welcoming pro-life groups to the march and listing New Wave Feminists as an event partner.
“Anybody can wake up and be angry, but not everybody can wake up and do something about it”, she said.
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“We’re very concerned about infringements on a person’s right to decide if abortion care is right for them, but we’re also concerned about the ways in which a black woman who is afraid that her children might face police brutality- that’s a women’s issue”.
