There has never been such a thing and here it is again: What do the participants of the "Women's March" want?

A year ago, when the "Women's march on Washington", many wondered what would happen next: whether this event will remain a one-time action or turn into a movement. Now it has become clear that we are moving in the second direction: this year hundreds of actions swept the world, and events stretched for two days at once. The main part of the marches, including in New York and Washington, took place on Saturday, January 20; On Sunday, January 21, several more events took place, including Power to the Polls - the beginning of the campaign to register American voters. Of course, the “Women's March” touched not only America - the organizers' website mentions marches in various cities, from Munich, Milan and Athens to Tokyo, Bishkek and Melbourne.

This year, the action was not so numerous, but still impressive: more than 200 thousand people went to New York, about 500 thousand in Los Angeles, thousands and tens of thousands in San Francisco, Oakland, Washington and London person. We understand what has changed over the past year, what marchers want today - and why the struggle for women's rights is not over yet.

Sexual abuse

The fight against violence and harassment in 2018 is only gaining momentum: January brought some more high-profile accusations to actors James Franco and Aziz Ansari, photographers Mario Testino and Bruce Weber. The campaign against violence also touched marches: a huge number of slogans in various US cities were dedicated to the #MeToo action; Natalie Portman performed on a march in Los Angeles in a Time's Up sweatshirt, and the London march was devoted entirely to the movement: Helen Pankhurst, great-granddaughter of the famous feminist Emmelyn Punkhurst, spoke on it, and also announced that Time's Up fund would open in Britain. Pink hats "pussy hat" associated with Trump's phrase "Grab them by the pussy ..." about what he can do with women whatever he wants, this year also remained one of the symbols of the march, although they were less common - but besides “Pussy gates” appeared at an event in New York, the installation of a feminist artist in the form of pink gates decorated with drawings of cats.

The events of the last six months proved that this is only the tip of the iceberg. The #metoo movement illustrated the prevalence of violence (the wave of accusations began in Hollywood, but also affected other areas) and how difficult it is to bring the defendants to justice: Harvey Weinstein’s words about harassment began to be taken seriously only after other victims had spoken.

In Russia, the processes taking place in America are far away at all. Although the head of the Investigation Committee announced that 98% of rapes were revealed in Russia in 2017, it is hard to believe in this statistic: experts say that victims are often denied initiation of proceedings - and many don’t go to the police in principle.

Politics

“I don’t think something like this would have happened if Hillary won,” one of the organizers of the Power to the Polls, Lisette Cheresson, said of the protest actions in an interview with Time. “We’d keep thinking that we had broken the glass ceiling, although in reality it’s only cracked. " According to her, this is similar to how during the presidency of Barack Obama "many thought that racism was over, although in reality it is not."

"Women's March" has always been closely associated with political issues. In 2017, he was dedicated to the inauguration of Donald Trump - its participants opposed a conservative turn in the life of the country. This year, the circumstances were such that, on the eve of the march, the US government suspended work - and it has not resumed until now, so it was impossible to disengage from political issues.

Even Donald Trump himself spoke about the march on Twitter: "In our great country there is beautiful weather - a good day for women to take the march. Take to the streets to mark the historical events, the incredible success in the economy and the well-being that happened to us." over the past twelve months. Female unemployment has fallen to its lowest level in the last eighteen years! "

Nevertheless, it is likely that dissatisfaction with Donald Trump this year will lead to real policy changes - at least in the United States. The Power to the Polls campaign, held in Las Vegas, was dedicated to attracting new voters - the organizers hope that they can change the situation in the country if not only privileged white Americans participate in political decisions, and more women will appear in government positions LGBT community and Americans of all backgrounds. This is partly happening now: at least 79 women want to run for governor in the United States, and this is almost twice as much as the previous record set in 1994.

This is a good illustration of how other countries need to move - alas, while there are still few women in the world’s politics. What this inequality leads to can be traced back to the example of Brazil, where in November the congressional committee voted to completely ban abortions in the country: eighteen men came out for the criminalization of the procedure, the only woman against it.

In Russia over the past year, the women's agenda has finally become part of political debate, and a woman will participate in the presidential elections for the first time in many years - although many still believe that Ksenia Sobchak is simply exploiting the feminist agenda. Russian politics really lacks strong female voices: over the past year, the country decriminalized beatings, tried again to ban abortions, and a separate law to combat the problem of domestic violence did not appear.

Intersectionality

The organizers of the march in Washington, from which the movement began last year, issued a statement on the eve of the event. It said how important it is for them that the movement remain inclusive and solve not only the problems of privileged groups. “When you go out on the march, look around. Think about who goes ahead. Think about who did not become the leader of the movement,” reads the message. “Pay attention to who has come and who is absent. Think why. Think about why because of the police checkpoint” non-whites "Americans feel that they are not welcome here. Think about why people with disabilities find it difficult to come because of the lack of a convenient route, the entrance to the stage or the playground, or they cannot do it at all."

Last year, the movement was criticized for the fact that, first, in the official statement of the march there was a line on the protection of the rights of sex workers, but then it was removed; in addition, some considered the “Female March” trans-exclusive. In 2018, it finally became clear that inclusiveness is an important part of the struggle for women's rights, simply because discrimination is largely related to the origin, financial situation, and gender.