As one sign read at the Women’s rights rally in Montreal in conjunction with the Women’s March on Washington against President Donald Trump, “Women’s rights are human rights,” and so goes the spirit of today’s protests in honour of International Women’s Day. Females are being encouraged to take the day off Work and go on Strike, which has been organised by the same people as the aforementioned march.
The campaign is being dubbed ‘A Day Without a Woman’
The strike is being called “A Day Without a Woman,” and the idea is that without women in the workplace, male employees and especially employers will realise how valuable they are and how it’s ridiculous and asinine to pay them any less than the male workers for doing literally the exact same job.
This is an attempt to keep the women’s rights fire alight by the same people who organised said march on Washington.
The Capitol Hill protest after Trump’s inauguration got the public’s attention and turned heads and got the feminist message out there, and now they are using International Women’s Day as a springboard to spread it even further, and it’s going worldwide, to about thirty different countries.
In addition to the strike from work, women are being encouraged by the activists not to shop at businesses owned by rich white men today, and to instead spend their hard-earned money at the too-few businesses owned by females or minorities, so that their money is only being spent at places where it will enhance the female standing in the economy.
Some companies are supporting the strike as a show of solidarity
As women all across the world were being encouraged to take a personal day off work (which was being supported by a lot of companies, including NBC and Netflix as a show of their support for gender equality) so they could take to the streets and protest against the misogynistic society they are a part of, in which they are treated unfairly and face many challenges.
Strike is being dubbed ‘International Women’s Strike’
The strike was given the new moniker as a play on the name of the holiday, albeit giving it more force and intimidation and might. International Women’s Day says, “Yay, women,” but International Women’s Strike says, “You know what, men, enough is enough! Without us, you would have nothing, so at least give us the same as what you have now!” and hopefully the men with the power to make that change will listen.
Rahna Epting, head of Every Voice, a Washington DC-based advocacy group, had some very inspiring words. She said that women are “the backbone, the lifeblood of what makes our economy and our political system function,” and said that “without us, these things would stop and life stops.”
