Women’s rallying cry: ‘Real march’ yet to come
LAS VEGAS – Marches for women’s empowerment rolled across the globe for a second day Sunday with rallies from Australia to Zambia and in the United States from New York to Vancouver, Wash.
The events took place against a backdrop of political dysfunction in Washington as the federal government shutdown stumbled into its own second day Sunday.
In the U.S., a power-to-the-polls theme focused on registering voters and encouraging women to run for office in November’s midterm elections. Rally leaders here were launching a drive aimed at registering 1 million voters nationwide as volunteers flanked the edges of the crowd entering Sam Boyd Stadium.
Lisa Paz, 36, showed up in support of her mother, Alexis Jimenez, who is running for a seat in New Mexico’s state Legislature. Paz, a citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, attended the national march last year in Washington, D.C.
“There’s always room to grow,” she said. “And as native people in general, we’re always kind of left out.”
Local resident Emaan Khawaja, 17, said the event is “monumental” for the city. “As a girl who goes to school and also is a minority that wears a headscarf, I feel like it’s really important to be at a place like this,” she said.
In Phoenix, local rally organizer Eva Burch said last year’s march was a protest, but this year’s is a “movement.”
“This year, we have an opportunity to make a meaningful impact in 2018 elections,” Burch said.
In New York City’s Union Square, about 200 women and men gathered at a Feminism & Faith in Unity rally that added a religious twist. Women from the Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Islamic, Lakota Sioux and other traditions offered blessings for marchers who carried signs that proclaimed “She Lifts Up, We Rise Up” and “There’s Something About Mary.”
“Thanks for this opportunity to bring our faith to our feminism, and our feminism to our faith,” said Lizzie Berne DeGear, an event organizer.
About 200 people also gathered in tiny Lewes, Del., population about 3,000.
“The real power is at the polls,” said Paulette Rappa, executive director of The Way Home, a non-profit that helps formerly incarcerated citizens transition back into their communities. “The real march is on Election Day.”
Rallies took place in more than 30 countries. In London, thousands rallied from Downing Street, home of Prime Minister Theresa May, to a memorial to women in World War II. The crowd, undaunted by the cold, rainy day, chanted “Time’s up” and “We want justice, not revenge.”
The “Look Back, March Forward,” which began Saturday, pays homage to the 2017 Women’s March one year ago Sunday. Empowerment took on an added urgency this year after highprofile revelations of sexual misconduct by men in media, entertainment, politics, sports and other careers.
Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY; Kaila White, The Arizona Republic; Catherine Carrera, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record; Taylor Goebel, The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times