By Miamichelle Abad
New Yorkers celebrated International Women’s Day with a march that asked the world to #makeithappen, the “it” being equal rights for all.
“I have a dream that one day our world will open its eyes and see that we are not separated because of national and international lines, opposing sides of the aisle, differing religious or nonreligious beliefs; and we certainly are not separated because we are male and female,” said actress AnnaLynne McCord to an eager crowd of supporters at the start of the march on Sunday March 8.
Listen to McCord’s full opening remarks
Thousands of men, women and children walked from Dag Hammarskjold plaza at 47th Street to Times Square to advocate for women’s rights. The message of the march was “make it happen” and participants also emphasized the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, echoing the theme of that event, “Women’s rights are human rights.”
Sexual abuse remains a significant problem for women worldwide. Actress AnnaLynne McCord explained that she herself was a survivor of sexual assault. “I dream for the day when every baby grows into a small child, grows into a teenager, grows into an adult without fear of physical beatings, without trauma of sexual abuse, and without the suffering of being enslaved,” she said.
During his address before the march, U.N Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the Beijing Platform for Action had made progress in the area of women’s rights but that, “the gains have been too slow and uneven.” Ki-moon called upon men to change their perspectives and to help with international humanitarian efforts. Women in the U.S. continue to face wage-gaps, he said, but women in Nigeria, Syria and other countries, have much more limited rights and don’t enjoy full access to education or “basic services.” That, coupled with the horrors of rape and human trafficking, are injustices that the U.N hopes to end, he said.
“Imagine trying to get something done with one eye covered…this is how our world has been functioning without the unique skills of women, the world has one eye covered,” Liberian peace activist, Leymah Gbowee, said about gender equality. “It’s time for us to uncover the other eye, so that our world can function better.” Her words were met with a load roar of approval from the crowd.
Singer Jackie Wilson ended the march on a powerful note singing, “We shall overcome.” Revitalized with the chants of a younger generation of women, this protest, started by grandmothers long ago –- who fought for the right to vote that came in 1920 –- was stronger than ever.
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