Activists plan women’s rights rally at Muller Plaza

Sept. 29--Red will be the primary color of activism in downtown Oneonta one night next week.

Red-robed protesters in the Handmaids' Resistance will highlight women's rights and possibly other social justice issues at Muller Plaza at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, according to organizer Elayne Mosher Campoli, founder of the Tri-County Women's Coalition.

"This is an opportunity for us to make a statement in support of raising up women's rights," Mosher Campoli said Wednesday. "It's about making a statement, a visual statement."

Demonstrators' costumes, which will include a white bonnet, imitate robes worn by women in "The Handmaid's Tale," originally a 1980s dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood.

The novel is set in a near-future New England after extremists have overthrown the U.S. government, according to the website for Handmaids' Resistance, and the result is a country where human rights and particularly women's rights are curtailed.

The novel has been adapted into a film and into a recent Hulu television series, which the site said has inspired activists across the country. Sexism and anti-women rhetoric promoted by President Donald Trump presidency and conservatives have begun to mirror the dystopian novel, according Handmaids' Resistance, which promotes protests.

"Women everywhere are going to keep resisting and persisting," the site said. "Organizing a handmaid protest is a powerful way to fight back. We are most powerful when we rise up together and boldly demonstrate that a society where women are treated as anything but equals will not be tolerated."

The Handmaids' Resistance website is provided by UltraViolet, a group working to fight sexism and create greater equality.

Mosher Campoli said Handmaids' Resistance provided 25 robes and bonnets based on the number of local people who registered to attend the Oct. 5 demonstration.

"We're still working out some of the details," she said. The rally for women's rights may be adjusted to include reproductive rights, LGBTQ issues, immigration rights or other topics, depending on the president's actions and comments during the next week, she said.

The protest Oct. 5 is part of the local Rise and Resist series presented monthly by the Tri-County Women's Coalition. Demonstration topics were transgender issues in August and supporting education in September, Mosher Campoli said.

The Tri-County Women's Coalition strives to collaborate with other organizations in planning programs, Mosher Campoli said.

Rally presenters also provide information, letter-writing materials and voter-registration information to further encourage participation and change, she said.

Denise Richardson, staff writer, may be reached at (607) 441-7213 or at drichardson@thedailystar.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DS_DeniseR.

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