Women’s marches across country focus on various issues

By: Megan Deierling, Andrea Siebert and Ryan Landolph

Women’s marches broke out in the United States and around the world in hopes of gaining equality and bringing awareness to certain social justice issues.

A day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, men and women flooded the streets of not only Washington D.C., but many other large cities. On Jan. 21st, thousands of protesters turned into millions to voice their concerns on commonly ignored issues.  

“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of civic participation in our government,” said Ohio Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge. “For the idea of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people holds little legitimacy without the significant involvement of the people themselves.”

Women have been fighting for their rights and the rights of others for many years. Although these marches were labeled “women’s marches,” there were plenty of men protesting on behalf of women, rather than being a bystander to the issues.

“The battle of the sexes is way overrated,” said Dr. Suzanne L. Holt, Director of Women’s Studies at Kent State University. “By now, most of us know our allies and adversaries don’t fall neatly into demographic folders. I hope we quietly ditch our systems of labelling one another long enough to rethink who we are, singularly and collectively.”

Each day brings change to our world, some good and some bad. However, people began to notice that the nation may be moving in the wrong direction and undoing the efforts of what many fought for in the past.

“The majority of Americans support equality and initiatives which further equality, and it was high time we all spoke up,” said Bobbie Szabo, a participant in the Cleveland Women’s March. “Seeing such American values being trampled on woke a lot of people up.”

A few of President Trump’s proposals frightened people about what would happen in his first one-hundred days.

“Any Presidential election can feel like a blow to some; we know that,” said Dr. Holt. “But this year’s blow was different—both in the way it was felt and in the way it was delivered. I got used to hearing women and men alike referring to election night as ‘the saddest night of their life.’”

One of his proposals includes the travel ban on Muslim-majority countries, which was implemented not long after his inauguration. Though much controversy has surrounded the executive order, it does not seem the ban is anywhere near a potential final ruling.

Another issue people brought up during the marches were other movements such as Black Lives Matter and equality for all people of different races and religions. These are common issues that remain topics of conversation quite frequently, but this time, they differed in the way people discussed them.

“The marches were different, too, and one of the most amazing differences was the contagion of the idea to just show up, and be there together,” said Dr. Holt. “Some (marched) against, some (marched) for, (but) each (knew) why, whether or not it was expressible in any simple sentence.”

Recently, some issues hit a little too close to home for Ohioans.

Ohio governor John Kasich vetoed a heartbeat bill, which would have prevented women from getting abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. However, he later signed a similar bill that prevented abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

“These events bring awareness to issues which have been covered up by our new administration,” said Szabo. “They send a message to the people whose jobs are centered around how the general public feels, and if they are doing their jobs correctly, they should know what they now need to do.”

Some members of the Ohio Congress also took part in the Cleveland women’s march and voiced their reasons for raising awareness about the issues.

“I begin each morning with a firm promise ‘to do the people’s work’ and will continue to rely on the advice of my constituents as I work to bring economic growth and jobs to our communities; improve access to health care, healthy foods and quality education; and protect the nation’s safety net programs,” said Congresswoman Fudge.

Although the biggest march was in Washington, Ohio residents and others in close proximity met up in Cleveland to add their voices to mix. The protesters believe this is a start of something new and powerful.

“We’ll keep gathering to revel in our substantial light, in our mutual fight and in the definitions of humanity at its best—inclusive, diverse and capable of great good,” said Dr. Holt. “Our ultimate goal is to remember who we are and what our story is—to know our truth, to honor our values, to care for our planet, to work on behalf of one another (and) to not lose heart or lose our way. Our ultimate goal is to navigate our way forward in this altered space.”

A post on the Cleveland Police Facebook page estimated to have had around 15,000 peaceful demonstrators in the city, with no arrests nor issues.

These men and women do not plan to give up fighting for equality any time soon. Their goals are to continue peacefully protesting until change becomes apparent.

“The marches shook the world in the best way possible—rekindling sisterhood (and) brotherhood,” said Dr. Holt. “We’ve been reminded that we matter to each other and must do the work necessary to resist what we ought not to accept.”

While the marches have been successful around the country, only time will tell if it is enough to keep moving forward on a myriad of issues. These marches are likely just the start of what will be much larger movement.

“The Women’s March on Washington is just the first step; what comes after is up to us all,” said the Women’s March on Washington group in their Statement of Inclusivity.