The Women’s March on January 21, 2017 in cities across the country was a political gathering to promote women’s rights, immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights, civil rights, disability rights, racial inequalities, workers’ rights, and environmental justice. This historic movement practiced nonviolent protest and sought to create a community of solidarity. It was the movement of a lifetime, nationally and even internationally, something that shouldn’t be ignored and not missed.
And I can sadly say I wasn’t there. I missed the Women’s March and I am writing about it. But hear me out, these are the thoughts of someone who couldn’t be there but wished I was.
Many people see the march as an anti-Trump protest, but it’s much larger than that. They aren’t just in retaliation to all the issues raised during the election campaign; these issues afflict almost all Americans every day. What makes this movement special is that previously there have been individual rallies for LGBTQ rights, civil rights, immigrant rights, environmental justice, etc. But this time they came together in solidarity. All their voices were heard and all their issues became one. The unity across these varying groups helps make their individual movements stronger.
The Women’s March reminded me why I am proud to be a woman. We have fought hard for the rights we have today and we continue to fight for the ones we are still denied. Woman have proved repeatedly that we are strong and we can break down those long-standing, meaningless barriers. This movement reminded me that it’s not just women’s rights that are at stake here. If women can achieve their peace and equality, then so can immigrants, the disabled, minorities, LGBTQ community, etc. These issues are equally important; one does not matter more than the other. It is amazing to be able to witness a time when all their voices are heard and to realize they share a common goal. This unity will hopefully foster more collaborations between groups and maybe then their visions will become reality. The Women’s March provided hope, especially at a time when it’s so much easier to have none, and inspiration, which seemed to be lacking. If anything, the Women’s March showed me that there’s still good. There’s still a lot of work to do, but even smallest tidbit of progress is worthwhile. The Women’s March has set in motion a new and revived direction for nonviolent protests and hopefully paved the way for increasing progress.