The International Women’s March made history on Jan. 21 when over 4 million women across the globe stood up for women’s rights. On Monday, organizers of that march challenged supporters to participate in protests and sit-ins to bring further attention to injustices against women.
Calling it “today’s sign of resistance” the group joined forces with with ACLU People Power, United We Dream, Hollaback!, National Lawyers Guild, The Gathering for Justice and other national and local partners to stage sit-ins at congressional offices nationwide, hoping to “send a clear message that we will rise up, together, against attacks on our health care, our identities, and our religious freedoms.”
The protests come less than a week after House Republicans passed a bill that will repeal and replace aspects of Obamacare, specifically relating to pre-existing conditions. The issue is of particular concern to women, who could face higher premiums for experiencing things like anorexia, osteoporosis, C-section and post-partum depression — all conditions that primarily or predominantly affect women. On Thursday, President Donald Trump also signed an executive order making it easier for employers to refuse women birth control under health plans based on religious beliefs.
“The attacks on queer and trans people, on disabled people, on Black, brown and Indigenous people, on immigrants, on poor people, on Muslim and Jewish people, the attacks on health care and the environment, the rendering of violence against women as a pre-existing condition—these are all one assault on our fundamental rights to live with dignity, autonomy and liberty,” the Women’s March wrote in its “Pledge of Liberation” on its website.
The group says its May 8 protests aim to fight for racial justice, environmental justice and human rights — which they say the Trump administration has waged war on during its first days in office.
About 70 protests are planned from Massachusetts to California. Boston will host a sit-in on Boston Common at 6:30 p.m. In New York, a sit-in is ongoing on the steps of city hall, another protest brought activists to Congressman Dan Donovan’s office.
@womensmarch @RepDanDonovan welcome home from Women’s March Fight Back Bay Ridge. Pledge of Liberation 5/8/17 pic.twitter.com/nGaGHgonSm
— Fight Back Bay Ridge (@FightBackBR) May 8, 2017
#PledgeofLiberation demonstration in front of #congressmandandonovan‘s office. pic.twitter.com/jteo1xtb2P
— Tabitha St. Bernard (@tabithastb) May 8, 2017
“We no longer accept hollow reforms or compromises that help some of our communities but harm others. We will hold demonstrations in solidarity with communities around the country and collectively fight for dignity, justice and freedom,” the group wrote on its Instagram.
