With challenges ahead, what happens next?
Millions of people around the world joined together to march for women’s rights on Sat, Jan. 21. The march was an incredible display of unity in the face of hard times ahead for women in the United States, and around the world, with Donald Trump’s presidency beginning.
One of the first executive orders signed by President Trump was a reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy. A policy that restricts non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from receiving U.S. government funding if they are providing abortion aid or counselling. President Trump signed the order in a room full of white men.
Policies like this one are why the women’s march is so significant and important. From Antarctica to Washington, D.C., over five million people around the world came together in their own locations to raise their voices. The event attracted attention from politicians and the media, although there is doubt about how much impact the march actually had. The question now is: what can we do next?
The organizers of the Women’s March on Washington have thanked everyone for coming out to march, but have also stressed the importance of continuing this fight. I couldn’t agree more. The march has shown how many people around the world want to fight. Now we need to keep that fight going.
The Women’s March on Washington has started an action plan called “10 Actions/100 Days.”
This plan is a great way to continue the movement. Anyone who is unsure what to do now, I would highly recommend joining the plan. Every 10 days, a new issue will be taken on with a new action.
The first action is to write a postcard to your senators about an issue that matters most to you, and about your intentions to keep fighting. In Canada, I would suggest writing one to your local member of parliament. We need to keep raising our voices. It is important that we take this fight to municipal, provincial, and federal representatives.
It is critical that those of us who want to keep fighting make our intentions clear. We will not stand down. Women in the United States are in for a long fight for their rights, and with executive orders such as the Mexico City Policy, it is clear that the Trump presidency has the ability to affect women all over the world as well.
Another thing we can do to keep the conversation going is to continue to host gatherings and discussion panels. These gatherings can be geared towards having thoughtful conversation and providing an opportunity to come up with new actions that we can take on.
We also need to hold each other accountable for taking action. I have found that with many of these events, all the hype doesn’t always last long. There will be people who continue to fight every day, but it is important that the five million people who marched, and those who were unable to, continue this fight as well.
[media-credit name=”Photo Courtesy of Liz Hearne” align=”aligncenter” width=”1020″]
Trump’s presidency offers us the opportunity to come together to face adversity, however, it also has the potential to divide us.
Some groups and people have spoken up since the event saying that the march did not represent them. This includes Indigenous groups, women of colour, and white privileged women who feel they have enough rights.
To white people of privilege who feel that women have enough rights: this isn’t about you. This is about the billions of women around the world and in the United States who don’t have the privilege and rights that you do.
To other groups who felt like the march didn’t represent you, let us keep having open communication to better understand each other. We cannot fight these injustices if we are all divided.
In the Washington march, there were Indigenous women who felt disrespected by the white women marching with them. This was expressed in a rant on Twitter by @sydnerain, who, according to her Twitter profile, is a philosophy student at the University of Oklahoma. @sydnerain’s rant discussed how white women at the march were walking through the Indigenous group’s prayer circle or commenting on their “pretty costumes.”
This is an important example of a lack of understanding between different groups of people even within the broader coalition of the march. There are many issues at play here, and the only way to promote awareness of them all is to continue to have conversations.
This is a fight for women’s rights, but also an opportunity to understand each other and bring intersectionality to the forefront.
As a white, privileged woman I am not fighting for my own rights. I am fighting to keep improving the diversity and equity of our society. I, and many others, feel like we are now moving backwards. This backwards movement is driven by the political events that have occurred in the United States.
The rise of the alt-right movement, the most male-dominated cabinet in recent history, and the signalling of the roll back on abortion rights for women are all events that have pushed us further back in time.
The action plan is a good place to start, but it is clear to me that this fight is going to continue far into the future. We need to keep talking to keep meeting, and to keep holding each other accountable.
To everyone who is affected by this movement, I challenge you to keep an open mind and to keep the conversation going. The only way to move forward is together.
Photos courtesy of Liz Hearne.