WASHINGTON:They chanted. They shouted. They danced. With their bright blue hijabs, they were difficult to miss.Dozens of Muslim women joined thousands of protesters at the Women’s March in Washington on Saturday to protest against what they say are President Donald Trump’s unjust policiestargeting their communities as well the wider public.
Their presence was conspicuous and drew praise from fellow protesters who joined their contingent to show unity. Blocks away from the White House, the women chanted in support of Black LivesMatter, refugees and democracy, calling on Trump to “move” and “get out the way”.”From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go,” they sang together.The chanting grew louder, angrier and more animated as the protesters passed the Trump Hotel along the route of the march.
Jinan Shbat, outreach manager at the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), lauded the energy of the marchers, calling it “empowering”.”It’s absolutely amazing, seeing all these people here supporting each other,” she said. “This administration has been seeking to divide us for two years, and I feel like every year we just come back stronger.”
Shbat said Trump’s travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries remains a major worry for women in the community, many of whom are struggling to unite with their families.”Here in the United States, on top of that, the rhetoric that the president has been spreading about Muslims has beenhurting visibly Muslim women,” she added.”If our president allows the hate to continue, unfortunately, Muslims tend to be the main target.”
Wafa May Elamin, a 26-year-old Sudanese American demonstrator, said she was personally affected by the ban, which made her feel unwelcome. Sudan appeared on Trump’s first executive order, but was later dropped in revised versions of the ban.Still, Elamin said she was heartened by the solidarity of the gathering.”If I was to define ‘support’ it would be this – the Women’s March,” she told MEE.
As the protesters gathered before the march, prominent Muslim activist Linda Sarsour urged the women to be proud of their faith and contributions to society in the United States.”It was important to us to make sure we were here as a visible force, to make sure that people do not ignore us, do not erase us from the conversation, that no one talks about Muslims without Muslims, and to show that we are also unapologetic about our identities and that we are also part of the feminist movement in America,” she told MEE.
Draped in a Palestinian keffiyeh, young activist Roudah Chaker enthusiastically shouted slogans through a megaphone. She said she was at the march to fight for the rights of Arabs, Muslims, African Americans and all marginalised people inthe US.”They all connect, because everybody is being oppressed by the same president,” she told MEE between rounds of chants.”The government is oppressing all these people, and all these people need to haverights in this country.”Lorie Hershberger, a therapist from Michigan, echoed the tone of solidarity, saying she becomes emotional when she thinks about the bigotry against Muslims in the US.
“We have a lot of Muslims in our community in Michigan, and they are wonderful people,” she said.
The march featured a myriad of ideologies and demands ranging from denouncing Trump and condemning racism to promoting equal pay and reproductive rights for women.On the edge of the demonstration, a few Uighur women waved the light blue flag of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, where the Chinese government has rounded up as many as1 millionMuslims and detains them in concentration camps.Demonstrators from Code Pink, a women-led anti-war activist group, calledfor peace and the rejection of Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico.
Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, said that opposing US foreign wars is a women’s issue.”Women are the ones who are most hurt by wars,” she told MEE. “They’re the oneswho have to keep the families together once men go off to war… Women are the ones who suffer when the budget goes into the military and is not there for the families’ needs, like health care and a good education system.”(MEE)
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