Wellington locals to kick-off global movement

Wellington residents Ashley Elinoff and Ruby Pleasants are too young to have participated in the civil rights and women’s movements of the 1960s and 1970s or in the Springbok tour of the 1980s. Neither of them – Elinoff at 33 nor Pleasants at 20 – have joined an international mobilisation around a common cause.

That’s all about to change when they march in Wellington on 21 January as part of the global Women’s March on Washington.

What began as a single march in Washington DC has grown to 616 sister marches in the US and 58 countries, including New Zealand. Marches in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and a rally in Dunedin will kick off the global events. As of midday 18 January, more than one million marchers around the world have registered to participate.

Elinoff, who moved to New Zealand from California by way of Singapore six months ago with her husband, an anthropology lecturer at Victoria University, is one of the organisers for the Wellington march.

“The Women’s March on Washington is a positive global movement encouraging women to take an active stance in their communities and uphold important democratic values. It’s a grassroots, collaborative movement to strengthen and build bridges with communities in the US and abroad. I see it as a symbolic act to resist the dismantling of any progress that has been made. The marches are an opportunity for women – and men – to gather wherever they are and renew conversations about the challenges that we face now and that we may face in the future.”

Elinoff, who completed her master’s degree in social work at San Diego State University in 2010, has participated in protests to break the silence of violence against women.

“I’ve become more political over the last six or seven years since completing my master’s degree. Growing up in the Midwest, I was taught that it wasn’t polite for women to talk politics. Despite becoming a social worker and advocating for maginalised individuals and communities, that message has been carried deep within in my psyche. It has taken several years for me to find my own voice. That’s why participating in this march means so much to me. I believe that all girls and women should be encouraged to utilise their minds and use their voices to speak out even when it is impolite.”

A Wellington native, Ruby Pleasants was raised to believe in equality and women’s rights. “Both of my parents are very rational thinkers and they believe in kindness and fair reasoning. I’ve been brought up with that same outlook on life and those around me. I see everyone as equal. I look at people without judgement. Because of my mum’s feminist attitudes, I’ve definitely been raised to believe that women and all ethnicities, ages and races should be treated equally.”

Now in her second year at Victoria University, Pleasants is studying criminology, sociology and social policy. “When people ask me ‘What are you going to do with your life?’ I answer: change the world, of course.”

To her, participating in the march is an opportunity to send a message to the new administration that going backwards is not an option.

“I’ve noticed that a lot of what Trump has said and what he stands for is in opposition to the positive aspects of the US. Equality in their society has made a lot of progress, but I think a lot of his beliefs are quite backwards and old style thinking. I worry that his administration will move us backwards and not forward and I want to keep moving forward and moving towards equality.”

While labelled a ‘women’s’ march, the march is open to everyone and is, says Elinoff, equally important in New Zealand and other countries, as it is in the US.

“Political change doesn’t happen in isolation,” she says. “Policies of one country impact policies and individual lives in others. Civil and human rights are shared by all citizens, not only in the US, but in New Zealand and other democratic nations across the globe. This movement is about inclusion and solidarity. The marches seek to reaffirm the core democratic values of freedom and democracy for all at a time when many fear that their voices will be lost, specifically related to women’s rights, immigrant rights, worker rights, reproductive rights, LGBT rights, environmental rights, rights for all races, and religious freedom.”

“As New Zealanders, “ says Pleasants, “we want to send a message to the new President that we won’t stop fighting for things that matter to us as a global community. “

Elinoff says that after the election she felt devastated and a bit hopeless. “I think a lot of people around the world shared those feelings. The spread of the Women’s March on Washington has allowed people to organise. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, or what your personal reasons are for marching. The point is that this moment demands mobilisation and action. That is what I felt was missing for me right after the election. I wondered where do I go from here. That’s why I wanted to get involved - to take action.”

“The march is bringing women together globally, in a way I haven’t seen in my lifetime. It’s been really exciting and really inspiring. My hope is that we can sustain this level engagement and encourage individuals to get involved in their communities after the march,” says Elinoff.

Pleasants agrees. “This is my first march. I’ve walked past a few before but not actually contributed or taken part. The fact that so many people are passionate about one thing really made me stop and listen and I really hope that people around us will do the same.”

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Auckland marchers will gather at the US Consulate at 10.30 and will march peacefully to Myers Park where the lineup includes Alison Mau, Jacinda Ardern, Tracey Barnett, Pani Farvid and the band AK Samba. #WMAkl

Wellington marchers will gather at Parliament at 10.30 am where they will be addressed by American-born Green MP Julie Anne Genter and ChangeMakers Refugee Forum Chief Executive Tayyaba Khan, before peacefully marching to Wellington Civic Square where they will join Love Trumps Hate, a festival celebrating democratic values. #WMWelly

Christchurch marchers will gather at Victoria Square at 10.30 am and march via the Kate Sheppard Memorial to Cathedral Square. Speakers include Christchurch East MP Poto Williams. #WMChch

Dunedin marches meet at the Upper Octagon at 10.30 for a rally. Speakers include Labour South MP Claire Curran; music will be provided by Matt Langley Heather LaDell, Aroha Ngatai and Pam Morrison. #WMDunedin

For more information on the Women’s March on Washington – New Zealand, see www.facebook/womensmarchNewZealand

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