Overview
It's the movement that has swept the streets and filled social media feeds over the weekend: the Women's March. Around the world, hundreds of thousands of people have come together to voice their concerns about the current state of social equality, with the rallies timed to follow the swearing-in of new US President Donald Trump.
Thanks to the difference in timezones around the world, Australia helped lead the charge. On the morning of January 21, crowds estimated in the vicinity of 3000 people gathered at the Pool of Reflection in Sydney's Hyde Park. The group was united by the common goal of peacefully protesting the legislation, or lack thereof, that allows the systematic repression of gender equality, as well as policies that halt equality in all its forms from becoming a reality in political and social systems around the world. Armed with placards bearing slogans like "This Pussy Bites Back" and the blunt, very to the point "Save Us From The Greedy Bastards", the atmosphere was electric, buzzing with excitement as women, men, and children took their struggle to the streets.
Veteran news guru Tracey Spicer commanded the microphone as the rally's MC, introducing a slew of influential speakers that gave their takes on the social issues of gender, cultural and disability inequality. While the march has been labelled a direct protest to the inauguration of the yellow fairy floss-headed hot dog sausage in a poorly fitting suit that is Trump, Dr. Mindy Freiband, the organiser behind the Women's March On Washington, stressed the broader message. She assured the waiting crowds that "these are not American problems, these are global problems," and rallied the gathered masses behind her by saying "we don't intend to be quiet while they continue."
Professor Helen Meekosha took to the mic to deliver a message of constructive positivity, demonstrating how policy and policy-makers need to change in order to create a more progressive society. Dr. Meekosha, probably the most qualified person in the world to talk on these subjects, has spent her career researching race, gender and disability relations. She urged that "we must have constructive alternatives" to the "neo-liberal policy" that takes the forefront in our political landscape. "We need to write policy and legislation that is not punitive," she advised, before going on to call the crowd together. "We need to come together in real time," Dr. Meekosha said. "We must care and look after each other."
After author Jane Caro rallied the group with the war-cry of "a woman's place is in the resistance", the throngs marched through Hyde Park, swarming Liverpool Street, heading through the city and eventually amassing in Martin Place in front of the United States Consulate. While there have been reports of minor clashes with the unexplainable breed of Australian Trump supporters (i.e., pot-stirrers), the march and the rally carried a message of solidarity, a hunger for change, and a spirit of peaceful resistance to a patriarchy that systematically inhibits social progression.
Elsewhere, millions of people around the globe heard the call and swamped the cities of the world. The turnout at the march in Washington has reportedly eclipsed the meagre few friends that the new US President could drum up to watch his swearing-in.