Why Londoners are standing in solidarity with the U.S. at the Women's March
LONDON -- This Saturday tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in Women's Marches around the world to protest Donald Trump's first day in office.
People in 160 cities --including Washington D.C. and London -- from 60 countries are expected to take part.
The organisers of London's march say that hosting a sister march was "instinctive" because the city has long been a "bastion of liberal values and championing those values across the world".
"I think we are at a particular point in history when it is becoming increasingly important for people to step up and get out of their comfort zones and confront prejudice in all its forms," explains Kerry Haggerty, one of the women behind the London march.
"Now is the time for alliance building. People need to stand up and unite and give voice to their concerns," Haggerty says.
Breaking the silence
For Americans living in London, the Women's March on London offers an opportunity to protest from afar, and to have a voice when they're away from home. We spoke to a selection of people to hear their reasons for taking part.
Margie Powell -- an American living in London -- says LGBTQ rights and affordable healthcare are the issues she'll be championing at the march. Powell's brother identifies as gay and she has a pre-existing medical condition.
"You have no right to be silent"
"Sure, it's not happening here, but if London stays silent will racism, islamophobia, sexism, and homophobia cross shores?" says Powell. For, Tanja Bueltmann -- a German historian living in London -- this march is important in standing up for what she believes in. "I believe that, with Trump's election and Brexit, we are at a watershed moment: basic values I believe in are under threat. Brexit is bad, but Trump is something else," Bueltmann says.
"I am marching in solidarity with the majority of the U.S. population that did not vote for Trump. I am marching for our fundamental rights. I am marching to say: resist!"
'Human rights eroded'
Catherine McLaughlin, from Essex, is marching because she feels there is a "real danger" of human rights being eroded. She's also marching in "solidarity with friends in the U.S. who will have to find huge resilience, activism and courage in the days ahead."
"A lone voice, when joined with other lone voices becomes a roar."
"I'm going to march alongside my daughters who are aged 9 and 11, my sister and on behalf of my mother and grandmother and the amazing women in my family who did everything they could to give their children opportunities to grow and thrive," says McLaughlin. Ruth Davies, a member of the Women's Equality Party in the UK, says that marching has long been important in fighting for the rights of minority groups throughout history. But, she also has a personal reason for marching: her 4-year-old daughter's future.
"I've just plain had enough of constant low level sexism we're expected to live with. Why the hell should I raise my daughter to excuse the same crap I had to? How is this still a struggle that needs to be faced?" she asks.
"I'm hoping that this march will inspire. That a lone voice, when joined with other lone voices becomes a roar. If all you have to offer is a voice, a thought, a body, you can still be visible, powerful and amplify positive messages to embolden others to stand up and be counted"
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Other organisations supporting the march
Pride London is supporting the Women's March on London because it wants to show solidarity with people everywhere who are fighting for equality and human rights.
"Rights that have been won are fragile"
"These are worrying times in which we live; rights that have been won are fragile and too many women suffer from the effects of being treated as less than just because of their gender," Alison Camps, deputy chairman of Pride London.
"We reject that, and that's why we will join the thousands upon thousands of voices around the world who are saying 'no' to the politics of inequality," Camps continues.
Polly Neate -- chief executive of Women's Aid -- said that the organisation is supporting the march to make a stand against violence against women and girls, which she states is "rooted in misogyny".
"We must stand up for equality, and men and women must fight misogyny together, to keep women safe and for a society built on trust and peace for everyone. This is why we must march. I am proud to be marching and speaking at the Women’s March on London," Neate continues.
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
