When Teresa Shook, a retired lawyer, posted on Facebook to show her dismay with Donald Trump's new administration, she couldn’t have known that it would become the basis for the Women’s March on Washington.

But her post went viral and soon other women were joining and vowing to walk with her, to show the country they were prepared to defend not only women’s rights, but also civil and religious rights.

Two other groups evolved at the same time, Pantsuit Nation declared its existence to “amplify the voices of those who have been historically underrepresented or excluded.”

While the Pussy Hat Project had women all over the county embracing the sometimes-derided female art form of knitting, producing bright pink “Pussy Hat’s to create a visual symbol that was a clever play on a word sometimes used as a derogatory term for female genitalia. As the group states in its manifesto the hats help to ‘reclaim the derogatory term as a means of empowerment’.

Women like Denise Rheese Watson of Oregon knit hats furiously, sharing generously not only with friends at home, but sending hats to friends in Anchorage, San Francisco, even New Zealand. “In fact I’m still making pussyhats.” Rheese Watson declares.

The success of the Women’s March on Washington and the sister marches held in solidarity all around the globe outnumbered the crowds at Donald Trumps inauguration. The March proved that women could create a huge grassroots movement effectively, but is also a reminder that women together can create inclusiveness in a political climate that encourages separation and divisiveness.

But we can’t stop there, as Teresa Shook the original author of the Facebook post says ‘we must be prepared to just keep letting our voices be heard and not relenting.’

The Women's March

Maggie Lennon

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