The Women’s March on Washington will take place on Jan. 21, the day after the presidential inauguration.
The inauguration of Donald J. Trump as president of the United States is Jan. 20, and thousands of women all over the country will be making their way to Washington, D.C., the day after to stand up for women’s rights and let their voices be heard during the Women’s March on Washington.
According to the Women’s March on Washington website, its mission is to “stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health and our families — recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.” Similar demonstrations will take place in other major cities all over the country, including Philadelphia.
The march starts at 10 a.m. on Independence Avenue and Third Street SW, and local women will be participating, including Berlin resident Nimisha Patel. Her sister Jignasha lives in Washington, D.C., and organized a group of family and friends to go. Her husband and two daughters are Islamic.
“They have two girls and they are Islamic, those are things that are against them,” Patel said. “(My sister’s husband) wants his girls to be raised as equals and doesn’t want them to be raised up thinking they aren’t going to be good enough or have the same rights we had growing up.”
Patel and another sister, Dharani, are taking the train to Washington, D.C., Friday night and participating for the same reason — women’s rights.
“I’m going because it’s so important for females to stand up for their rights,” she said. “It’s already hard being in the business world competing with other men. I shouldn’t feel like I’m not equal to what they are doing or what they could be doing.”
Donna Newtognano of Cherry Hill went into the voting booth with her 15-month-old daughter on Election Day thinking there was no chance Trump would be president.
“I took her to the voting booth and told both of us, ‘this is awesome, we’re going to have the first female president,’” she said. “I saved her an ‘I Voted’ sticker. As the new president-elect became obvious later, I was disheartened so many people were willing to brush aside the comments and say, ‘Yeah, maybe he doesn’t say the right thing and do the right thing, but I trust him with our county.’ I have a problem thinking this is the person who’s going to lead our country and represent us.”
Newtognano said she’s never been a politically minded person and has never been up in arms over anything like this before, but felt so dejected after the election. She quickly found others online who felt the same way.
“Right after the election, there was this fast movement of the Pantsuit group on Facebook,” she said, a private group founded during the presidential campaign to support Hillary Clinton and her ideals. “Everyone started talking about it (The March on Washington) and I got so excited. I was so disheartened by everything that happened, and I became concerned with women’s rights and wanted to do something. It seems like a great opportunity to do something.”
Newtognano rented a bus and organized a group of 36 women who will meet at the Cherry Hill Mall before departing for Washington, DC. Some are friends, others found out through word of mouth. She is excited to be a part of an opportunity where thousands of women are there for the same reason and hopes everyone’s voices will be heard.
“I’m hoping that we are able to get the message across that we aren’t going down to lay down and accept women being treated less than anyone else,” she said. “That we’re not going back to a time when saying things in a negative connotation or sexually about women is an appropriate thing to do in any environment. We’ve come so far in the last 350 years. I would hate to go backward.”
Said Patel: “I think we just want to be heard. I think the more I talk about it to some of my friends, I think it’s uniting me with another bunch of women who feel the same way.”
