On March 8, International Women’s Day, we held a public rally from 1 PM to 3 PM in the front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington DC to address the global challenge of women oppressed and killed in the name of extremism. We demanded that the American government, the United Nations, and international leaders recognize the extremist war on women in America and around the world. Moreover, we demanded action on this extremist threat to women.
We spoke out on the abuses to women from extremism, who had posters challenging Sharia, and who sought to educate the public on attacks on American girls and women in so-called “honor killings,” such as the attacks on Sarah and Amina Said in Dallas.
We called for the focus of International Women’s Day to be changed to saving women from such supremacists who believe that they have “right” to oppress, mutilate, beat, and murder women. We stated that extremists have no such “rights,” nor does anyone have any “rights” to oppress and attack women. We called for the U.S. Congress, our President, and the federal government to recognize that women under attack by extremists are not expendable in tactical designs to negotiate with extremists around the world. The inalienable human rights of equality and liberty for women and all people must always be our first priority in our foreign policy, domestic policy, and our national security policies.
We called upon the public to convey to their government leaders that tactics based on fear of extremists that would sacrifice women as expendable are immoral and unjust policies, and they must be rejected and challenged.
We encouraged members of the public to sign our petition regarding the extremist war on women to “Save Women Now.” Since the rally, nearly another 100 have signed our petition – please share our “Save Women Now” petition with your friends and family!
Our rally location at the Capitol Reflecting Pool ensured reasonable foot traffic given the mild temperatures and we were able to reach many individuals who might otherwise never heard about these issues. Tourists visiting Washington DC stopped to listen to our message, view our placards, and we got a number of “thumbs up” signals from the public crowds. We were also approached by several individuals interested in further working with us on this cause, including a supporter of the group, the International Campaign Against Honour Killings.
The primary objective of such public rallies is not merely to gather those who share our views together, but to reach out to the general public. We don’t believe that our campaign for equality and liberty is served by focusing our missionary work of freedom on only “preaching to the choir.” So you will see us in other public rallies again and again in the future!
We spoke numerous times to the public crowds, and began and ended our rally with a verse from a song that we believe must be the new theme song of the continuing defiance against supremacism. Our song consists of the fifth verse of “We Shall Overcome,” and its lyrics are as follows:
“We are not afraid, we are not afraid,”
“We are not afraid today;”
“Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,”
“We are not afraid today.”
To the supremacists of the world, free people are NOT AFRAID of you!
We will Fear No Evil! that the American government, the United Nations, and international leaders recognize the extremist war on women in America and around the world. Moreover, we demanded action on this extremist threat to women.
Thank you to all those who attended, all those who listened, and to all those who signed our petition!
NOTE: Our next public rally challenging extremism is scheduled for Sunday, May 17 between 1 to 4 PM in Washington DC at the Capitol Reflecting Pool. We are also looking to have a public rally challenging the resurgence of white supremacism and calling for a renewed focus on our shared human rights on Saturday April 4 between 4 to 6 PM in Washington DC on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; we are still awaiting our National Park Service permit for the April rally.
More information will be available on upcoming rallies in Washington DC, and hopefully this summer in New York City and the West Coast on Responsible for Equality And Liberty’s (R.E.A.L.) website at https://www.realcourage.org
We will also be looking to see our options for further DC rallies this summer on Saturdays. Our challenge to hold some rallies on Saturdays is that dates and areas for first amendment rallies are difficult to obtain because many are obtained up to a year in advance.