Some kids were really lucky on Wednesday, when organizers of the “A Day without a woman” Strike persuaded female teachers to stay home. A gender-equality protest, the strike comes on the same day as International Women’s Day, but is not directly related. Reportedly organizers were inspired by protests by women in other countries in the world. However, critics are still saying the strike is bringing politics into the classroom and that it is intended to denounce Trump’s presidency.

According to Fox News, it was organizers of the historic Women’s March on Washington that organized the event.

That historic march attracted hundreds of thousands of women, protesting against Donald Trump. However, according to the Women’s March website, the demonstration on Wednesday is being supported by various other groups too, including Amnesty International, MoveOn.org and Planned Parenthood.

'Day Without a Woman' is about inequality and gender justice

On that website, organizers say they recognize the enormous value women from all backgrounds add to the socio-economic system in the U.S. However, it states women receive lower wages and experience vulnerability to discrimination, greater inequities, job insecurity and sexual harassment. They also recognize the heightened levels of discrimination currently being suffered by trans and gender-nonconforming people, including political targeting and social oppression.

Basically the group is all for gender justice.

School closings on Wednesday

As stated by Fox News, school officials in New York, Alexandria, Va. and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District in North Carolina decided to cancel classes prior to the event, due to anticipated staff shortages.

Another northern Virginia school district, announced school closures after over 300 staff members requested the day off. This led to many parents having to make alternative arrangements for their children or to take the day off themselves, unrelated to the strike.

Those that go to work can participate later

The LA Times reported that even those teachers who didn’t go on strike have the opportunity to participate in various rallies and demonstrations outside of school hours.

Debby Pope, a retired teacher told them she is helping organize such events for the Chicago Teachers Union. According to Pope, she has been fighting for women’s rights since 1968. Pope said women stand to lose so much of what they have fought hard to gain, mentioning in particular abortion rights, but also gains made through union labor.

Lady Liberty on strike too?

Rather ironically, many people thought a recent incident in New York was related to “A Day Without a Woman.” As reported by Blasting News, the Statue of Liberty went dark for just over an hour Tuesday evening, due to an “unplanned outage,” but many Twitter users believed Lady Liberty was also protesting on behalf of women.
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