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Yesterday, millions of women marched in cities around the world to protest Donald Trumps reign, and to stand up for women’s rights. Reports say that 500,000 women took part in Washington alone with Irish women also making their voices heard in Dubin and all across Ireland yesterday.

Within hours of becoming president Trump removed all mention of LGBT, Environmental and Civil rights from the White House website. We are all afraid that Trumps reign will take women’s rights back decades, and undo all the great work that has been achieved by our Mothers and Grandmothers. ‘Women are Boring’ shared the following stats this morning that will really make you think.

In the UK and Ireland 24% of the people heard, read or seen in the news are women. In the rare instance that women are called upon  as news sources, it is mostly to talk about emotional and subjective topics. Women represent only 15% of all academic experts, lecturers and teachers included as sources for news stories. Female experts are leading major intellectual shifts, fighting disease, authoring peace agreements, inventing new forms of clean energy,pioneering discussions on race inequality and working towards a fairer democracy. Yet, the mainstream media continues to celebrate women, almost exclusively, for their physical attributes rather than their intellectual achievements.

For all these reasons, we girls need to stand up now more than ever. Talk to your Mothers, Aunts, Grandmothers, Teachers, Coaches and listen to those who are speaking out, even if their voices are not the loudest in the room. Think about where you want your life to take you, without even for one second questioning that you can make anything happen, as long as you don’t put restrictions, or gender norms on yourself. That is your choice. And no one can take that away from you.

Click through the gallery below for some pictures of the march.

 


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