Amidst the frigid temperatures of Saturday afternoon, roughly 70 women and their allies marched the Paris Street bridge to participate in the city's second annual Women's March.
Women's March is a global, female-led movement, introduced to harness the political power of women and their communities. The Women's March strives to inspire social change through training, outreach programs and events such as their yearly rally.
While the primary march is held in Washington D.C, cities across the world are encouraged to host their own affiliate rallies to voice the unique concerns of their community.
Last year, when it seemed as though Greater Sudbury would not be participating in the global movement, PoliticsNOW founder Amanada Kingsley Malo stepped up. By partnering with dedicated female entrepreneurs from the area, Malo was able to organize a march of 250 people in the span of two weeks.
“We want to make sure it is very clear that we believe women’s rights are human rights, and that’s what we are marching for,” said Malo. The Women’s March is for all women, including the marginalized, missing and murdered Indigenous, women who cannot march themselves, members of LGBTQ2S as well as immigrants and refugees, said Malo.
“It’s very important that that distinction be made, because if you’re not marching for all women then you’re not marching for anybody.”
Although society has come a long way, there is still much work to be done in the name of equality, said Malo. Through the Women’s March, women are given the opportunity to grow from shared experience and exercise political will; but this is just one example of the efforts being dedicated to establishing a gender balance.
These dedicated efforts include those of PoliticsNOW, which inspires and educates women interested in getting involved in politics. PoliticsNOW worked hard in the 2018 municipal election, training over 75 women across the country and financially supporting 26 campaigns across Northern Ontario, said Malo. “We saw a ton of those women get elected, so it was a really fantastic year for us.”
Malo said she was unsure whether their organizing team would host the Women's March in following years, but she believes "that so long as it's not just me that's marching down Paris with a solo sign, I think that we've succeeded."
