Women demand economic fairness
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO: Women protested around the world yesterday for equal rights and in the United States against President Donald Trump, with many Americans skipping work or boycotting stores to demand economic fairness on International Women’s Day.
American women seized upon the momentum of the Women’s March on Washington on January 21, the day after Trump’s inauguration, once again denouncing his policies on abortion and health care.
Dubbed ‘‘A Day Without a Woman’’ in the US, the nationwide events were modelled in part after proimmigrant demonstrations on February 16, the latest in a series of antiTrump protests since his election.
By having women, who make up 47% of the US civilian labour force, flex their economic muscle, organisers hoped to call attention to the gender pay gap, access to reproductive health services and Trump’s actions that have restricted abortion overseas.
New York police reported 13 arrests at the protest in midtown Manhattan. Details on the possible charges were not immediately available.
In San Francisco, where about 1500 people gathered, Christine Bussenius (37) said she and her female colleagues at Grey Advertising convinced their allmale managers to give them the day off to participate in the rally.
‘‘We were nervous,’’ she admitted. ‘‘But the men stepped up to fill in the void.’’
Rallies were held in numerous US cities, including Washington, where demonstrators gathered at the US Labour Department.
Female staffers at Fusion Media Group’s Gizmodo declared they were striking for the day.
At least three US school districts, in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, closed because of staff shortages after teachers requested the day off.
Events were also held in cities around the world.
Across the Texas border, women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, painted crosses on lampposts in solemn remembrance of the hundreds of women who have gone missing or were murdered there in recent years.
In Tbilisi, Georgia, women performed ‘‘glass ceiling’’, simulating being trapped by the barely visible barrier that stands between women and workplace equality.
They banged drums in Kiev, Ukraine, and played football in Nairobi, Kenya. In Sanaa, capital of wartorn Yemen, women dressed in niqabs, the allblack garments that cover the entire body except for an opening over their eyes, held up a sign reading, ‘‘You keep silent while our children die!’’