A retired grandmother, Teresa Shook, was extremely displeased with the results of the election. She took to Facebook just a day after, to invite 40 of her friends to march on Washington with her in solidarity. Her results were astounding. Nearly 10,000 people accepted her invite and decided to join her.

Now that number has risen to 250,000 supporters, with 175,000 confirming they will be in attendance. A small gesture has now grown into a huge movement for women’s rights. At 10 am Saturday morning, the women's march on Washington will start with thousands of supporters and will have guest speakers and entertainers alike.

What is the March for?

The walk is a unification of many different feminist groups, reaching out to gather supporters and marchers. As women’s rights is always a turbulent issue, the event is here to signify to the incoming government, that women’s issues should not be forgotten. The uplifting, positive event, however, has also had some disputes.

Hurdles

The original name of the march “Million Woman March” caused major controversy as it replicated the name of the 1997 women’s march, that had 750,000 African American women marching in Philadelphia. Some women of color did not appreciate the name because of the significance of the original phrase. This walk, also, did not originally include women of color.

One of the rally’s organizers, Carmen Perez, explained how the march was originally exclusive to white women (who started it) but she felt that it needed to work for all women, including immigrants, women of different backgrounds, and the LGBT community.

"We can't continue to work in isolation. We can't continue to be one-dimensional … We have to make sure that we look up, and that we begin to really coordinate our efforts." Perez said.

The march also caused a little trouble in regards to men. Similar to feminism, where the name can be misconstrued, men felt they did not fit into the equation. Although the initial title includes the word “women”, the organizers have assured everyone that this march is for Equality for all and not just women.

The March, marches on!

The women’s march on Washington is a march that will go down in history. A solid effort in bringing women’s rights to our new administration. Even with the obstacles faced, the march has overcome it all and will make a stride for equality
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