Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Women march worldwide for rights and justice
US, global protests for rights, justice stir many to wear red, mark solidarity
Global protests on International Women’s Day call for equality.
PHILADELPHIA — Scores of women used the timing of the U.N.-designated International Women’s Day to stay home from work, join rallies or wear red Wednesday in solidarity for equity and their rights and to demonstrate their power as an economic force.
Women around the world likewise rallied for respect and justice.
“A Day Without a Woman” protests in the U.S. followed women’s marches that drew more than 1 million Americans the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Some of Wednesday’s protests featured crowds in the hundreds. There were no immediate estimates of how many women heeded the call to skip work.
The U.S. protests were inspired in part by last month’s “A Day Without Immigrants” protest.
In Washington D.C., more than 20 Democratic female representatives walked out of the Capitol to address a cheering crowd of several hundred people.
Dressed in red, the lawmakers criticized efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., encouraged more women to go into politics, saying, “You have marched for progress. Now you must run for office.”
In Warsaw, thousands of women showed Poland’s conservative government red cards and made noise with kitchenware to demand full birth control rights, respect and higher pay.
In Rome, hundreds of women set off on a march from the Colosseum to demand equal rights. Germany’s Lufthansa airline had six all-female crews flying from several cities in the country to Berlin.
Thousands marched in Istanbul, despite restrictions on demonstrations imposed since last year’s failed coup. Turkish police did not interfere.
Women also held rallies in Madrid and Tokyo.
Finland announced a new $160,000 International Gender Equality Prize.
A crowd of about 1,000 people, the vast majority of them women, gathered on New York’s Fifth Avenue in the shadow of Trump Tower. Women wore red and waved signs reading “Misogyny out of the White House now” and “Resist like a girl.”
School places such as Prince George’s County, Md., Alexandria, Va., and Chapel Hill, N.C., canceled classes after hundreds of teachers and other employees let it be known they would be out. In Providence, R.I., the municipal court closed for lack of staff members.
In New York, a statue of a fearless-looking girl was placed in front of Wall Street’s famous charging bull sculpture. The girl appeared to be staring down the animal. A plaque at her feet read: “Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.”
As part of the Day Without a Woman protest, women were also urged to refrain from shopping.
Some criticized the strike, warning that many women cannot afford to miss work or find child care. Organizers asked those unable to skip work to wear red in solidarity.
Monique LaFonta Leone, a 33-year-old health care consultant in Colorado Springs, Colo., reported to work but put on a red shirt and said she donated to charity, including Planned Parenthood.
“I have bills to pay, but I wanted to make my voice heard, no matter how quiet,” she said. “I also wanted to make a statement to say that women are doing it for themselves. We’re out here in the workforce and making a difference every day.”
Trump took to Twitter to salute “the critical role of women” in the U.S. and around the world. He tweeted that he has “tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy.”
First lady Melania Trump hosted a luncheon at the White House for about 50 women.
The White House said none of its female staff members skipped work.
Lovely Monkey Tattoo, a female-owned tattoo parlor in Whitmore Lake, Mich., offered tattoos with messages such as “Nevertheless, She Persisted” — a reference to the recent silencing of Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the Senate floor — with proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.
Women make up more than 47 percent of the U.S. workforce, according to the U.S. Census. They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, and lawyers and judges. Women also account for 55 percent of college students. Yet U.S. women earn 80 cents for every dollar a man makes.