Hotels in Washington, D.C. are almost all booked up for this weekend, but not everyone’s in town for the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump. The Women’s March on Washington, set to take place this Saturday, is expected to be one of the largest demonstrations in American history.
Darlene Juschka, head of the women's and gender studies department at the University of Regina, said the march aims to stand up against the negative tone of Trump’s presidential campaign.
“(Trump) has shown himself to be very dismissive and disrespectful of women, of people of colour, of queer folks, intersex folks, anyone who is not a standard white guy really is marginalized in his rhetoric,” said Juschka.
The movement hopes to bring together men and women of all backgrounds to stand in solidarity with those who feel their rights may be jeopardized under President Trump.
“It shows Donald Trump that these are American citizens who are concerned about his presidency, and concerned about his actions towards them. When you have a mass of people show, that speaks volumes in terms of what they are saying,” said Juschka.
Sister marches will be held in cities worldwide, including in a number of Canadian cities.
Alice de Cloedt is one of the organizers of the march that will be held in Saskatoon on Saturday. She was inspired to act by President Obama’s farewell speech. The speech called on people to be part of their communities and to be global citizens.
When de Cloedt realized there wasn’t a march organized anywhere in Saskatchewan, she thought it was time to get involved.
Another reason de Cloedt will be marching is for her young child.
“I’m eager for my child to grow up in a world where gender does not dictate how he thinks and how he feels, and how he acts, and how he works or what he works at, or what he’s expected to do,” she said.
De Cloedt believes Canadian involvement is part of being a good neighbour.
“I think it’s important to show solidarity to the United States in a time where things are so uncertain,” she said.
Organizers in Ontario have sold out the eight buses they have organized to attend the demonstration in Washington.
The Washington Post reported that there are 1,200 bus parking passes being sought for the day of the Women’s March on Washington, compared to the 200 bus parking passes being sought for Inauguration Day.
