By Cooper Formica
International Women’s Day is a holiday observed annually on March 8 to celebrate and advocate for women’s rights worldwide. Demonstrators in many places were gathering to mark what women have done and bring light to women’s issues.
In the UK, over 500 women organised a sunrise swim to bring awareness to women's history. In India, a group of women's rights activists took over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media to talk about the women's health epidemic plaguing the nation. In Poland, a series of marches occurred demanding increased abortion rights.
Across the United States, protests were taking on a different look this year, as marchers nationwide sought to raise awareness for women's issues in addition to the social issues raised by the policies of the new Trump administration.
In Boston close to 1,500 people marched in front of the state house and into downtown Boston to raise awareness for a variety of issues including, Women's rights, Lgbtq+ rights, Immigration, Climate Change, and more.
At the march in Boston, there was a mix of returning protestors like Vicky Hajabe, who, like many other participants we spoke to, were “marching to show support for women's rights.” Yet Vicky also hoped partaking in the march would “show peaceful resistance” to the broader actions of the new administration.
This year’s march had a more somber and concerned tone amongst its participants. Many of whom, like Jerry and Chris, were eager to have their voices heard but requested not to be identified by their full names for the story, fearing the administration may target them in the future for sharing their beliefs. Both shared fears: “Our democracy is crumbling, and women's rights are being taken away."
Others were more open, such as Charlotte Vail, a mother from Massachusetts who was also a returning participant in International Women's Day demonstrations. Charlotte hoped the march would bring awareness to more specific policies of the administration. Most notably, the Save Act, a proposed set of voting regulations from the Trump administration that she believed would “make it harder for women to vote”.
In the weeks since International Women's Day, demonstrations against the Trump administration throughout Boston and the United States have grown larger and more frequent, suggesting that the concerns of these protesters are unlikely to subside anytime soon.
