Demonstrations back female empowerment
Trump views denounced
ST PETERSBURG, Florida, Jan 21, (AP): More demonstrations in support of female empowerment are planned around the world Sunday, a day after a host of marches and protests, several of them massive, marked the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Marches are scheduled in cities including Miami, Melbourne and Munich. A rally in Las Vegas will launch an effort to register 1 million voters and target swing states in the midterm elections.
On Saturday, many not only supported women’s rights, but also denounced Trump’s views on issues including immigration, abortion and LGBT rights.
The 2017 rally in Washington, DC, and hundreds of similar marches, created solidarity for those opposing Trump’s views, words and actions. Millions of people around the world marched during last year’s rallies. Participants on Saturday talked about the news avalanche of politics and gender issues in the past year. They said they were galvanized by the #MeToo movement, which has been credited as countering widespread sexual abuse and misconduct.
Critics of the weekend’s marches said the demonstrations were really a protest against Trump. The president tweeted Saturday that it was a “perfect day” for women to march to celebrate the “economic success and wealth creation” that’s happened during his first year in office.
“Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months,” the Republican wrote. “Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!”
Signs
Demonstrators on Saturday denounced Trump’s views with colorful signs and even saltier language.
Oklahoma City protesters chanted “We need a leader, not a creepy tweeter!” One woman donned a T-shirt with the likeness of social justice icon Woody Guthrie, who wrote “This Land Is Your Land”.
Members of the group Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Seattle burned sage and chanted in front of Seattle’s rainy march.
In Richmond, Virginia, the crowd burst into cheers when a woman ran down the middle of the street carrying a pink flag with the word “Resist”.
The march in Washington, DC, on Saturday took on the feel of a political rally when US Sen Kirsten Gillibrand and US Rep Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats, urged women to run for office and vote to oppose Trump and the Republicans’ agenda.
“We march, we run, we vote, we win,” Pelosi said, to applause. People gathered from Montpelier to Milwaukee, from Shreveport to Seneca Falls.
“I think right now with the #MeToo movement, it’s even more important to stand for our rights,” said Karen Tordivo, who marched in Cleveland with her husband and 6-year-old daughter.
In Palm Beach, Florida, home to Trump’s Mar-aLago estate, several hundred people gathered carrying anti-Trump signs before marching. A group of women wearing red cloaks and white hats like the characters in the book and TV show “The Handmaid’s Tale” marched in formation, their heads bowed.
Cathy Muldoon, a high school librarian from Dallas, Pennsylvania, took her two teenage daughters to the New York rally and said marching gives people hope. She said this year’s action is set against the backdrop of the Trump presidency, which “turned out to be as scary as we thought it would be.”
“I’ve not seen any checks and balances,” she said. “Everything is moving toward the right, and we have a president who seems to have no decency.”