Women’s Rally debuts in Carlisle Saturday

Jan. 17--The first-ever Women's Rally on the Square, a sister event to the national Women's March this weekend, will take place in Carlisle Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Square.

"A group of us drove down to the one in Gettysburg last year and it was on the way back from that, that we decided we should hold one in Carlisle," said Kate Elkins of American Association of University Women Carlisle, one of the rally's lead organizers.

"Just because some more female politicians made it into Congress that doesn't mean that our work is over. These issues still have a lot of work to be done," Elkins said.

The founding Women's March was held Jan. 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, whose history of sexist comments was seen as a major impetus for the rallies.

The main protest march was held in Washington, D.C., with participation estimates as high as 1 million marchers.

Total participation at satellite rallies round the globe was estimated as high as 5 million participants, with additional rallies added for the second event on Jan. 20, 2018.

Although many of the issues championed by the Women's March may appeal to a more left-leaning audience, Elkins said the event is intended to be nonpartisan and open to anyone interested in topics of women's rights and social justice.

"Our goal has been to make it nonpartisan and nonconfrontational," Elkins said. "It's not directed at any one politician or political party. What we want to show is that there is energy in the community and concern about addressing these issues."

Speakers and topics scheduled for the Carlisle rally include:

* Dr. Chavone Dantrell Momon-Nelson on women's health and reproductive rights

* Aaysha Noor of the Community Responders Network and Asian American Pakistani Heritage Group on issues of hate and intolerance

* Deb Fulham-Winston, Carlisle Borough Council member, on women in political office, civic participation and voting

* Safronia Perry, executive director of Hope Station, on the treatment of black women in society

* Arletta Morales on the DREAM Act

* Samantha Martin and Taytum Pear of the Carlisle Youth Council on stereotyping

* Stephanie Jirard from Shippensburg University on the incarceration of women

* Robin Scaer, executive director of the YWCA Carlisle, on equal pay.

In addition to AAUW, participating organizations are the YWCA Carlisle, Carlisle Area Youth Council, and Cumberland Valley Rising.

For more information, contact aauwcarlisleinfo@gmail.com.

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