by Madeline Abel
On January 20, thousands of men and women rallied to support women’s rights in hundreds of cities around the country. Last year’s protest was the first of its kind after the inauguration of president Donald Trump, and the tradition continued this year due to the comments that some have perceived to be sexist and racist.
A protester from Los Angeles, Amanda Kowalski said on Saturday, “I’m done with men feeling like they have some sort of power over women, and I’m definitely done with having a president who believes that he has the power to take things from them, to take things that are provided — like Planned Parenthood — from women, when they deserve the same sort of health care as anybody else.”
Speakers at the march, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, urged the women gathered in D.C. to run for office this year.
Just a day earlier was the Pro Life march in which Trump, who once described himself as “very pro choice,” spoke to the crowd saying, “We are with you all the way.” New York Times reports that Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, “To change the system, we need to change the players and have women at the table.”
Protesters added that the atmosphere last year was “angry and impassioned,” due to the newly elected president, but this year it was more of a movement for everyone. The people gathered this year not only to protest womens rights, but immigration, abortion, and LGBT rights.
It is estimated that over 1 million people protested across the country on the 18th, which is a huge drop from last years 4 million. Even with the drop in numbers, the protesters still made their mark and spoke for what they believe in.