Approximately 20 women of all ages and backgrounds gathered at the Boston Common on Saturday afternoon to speak out in support of women’s rights and empowerment in response to this year’s election.
The rally was organized by two Brookline High School students, senior Antonella Kugler and junior Liliana Severin. Throughout the rally, the two lead the group in chants, such as “Empowered women, empower women” and “Eliminate girl hate,” and they ended the rally by exchanging sticky notes with supportive messages on them.
Kugler said she came up with the idea for the rally shortly after the election.
“I found myself feeling lost and confused and very struck by what had just happened and what is going to continue to happen over the next four years in this country,” Kugler said. “I found myself with a huge sense of urgency and a huge sense of just feeling like I need to do something; like I can’t sit here, I can’t watch the world, and I can’t feel this way and not do something about it.”
The goal of the rally was to create a safe space where women and girls could express themselves openly and vent their frustrations, according to Kugler.
“I am constantly told, whether it be by my teachers, by my family, by other people that I’m with, even sometimes my best friends, to be quiet,” Kugler said. “That affected not only my self-esteem and my self-confidence, but also my education … it’s just something that every girl goes through at some point in their life, and for me the way to come against that and to rise above that is to yell and is to kind of shove it back in their face.”
After the rally ended, Kugler said she thought it was a success, and was inspired by the people that came out.
“Every single person that was here brought something with them and took away something, and I know that’s what I wanted,” Kugler said. “I wanted people to feel like they were heard and that this was a space where they could come together with their sisters and just be loud and be proud.”
Severin said she was impressed with the people that came in support of the rally, especially those that traveled a long way to get there.
“I’m super grateful for everyone who came — family, friends and strangers,” Severin said. “There was someone from Maine who came down, and that’s amazing to me that she heard about this from a friend and was empowered enough and … came all the way here just to do this.”
Women who attended the rally said they felt grateful for the opportunity to speak freely and they emphasized the importance of gatherings like these in wake of the election.
Maya Pontone, 18, a freshman at Emerson College, said these types of rallies can act as a support system for activists.
“Events like these are necessary because, especially after the election, you need to create these communities for people to fall back on and to keep them going and fighting for what they believe in,” Pontone said. “It doesn’t matter how small or big they are, just continuing to show your support … I think is really important.”
Donna Senkbeil, 54, of South Portland, Maine, said speaking out at rallies such as this one is necessary in contesting a possibly new upcoming political climate.
“It’s really important that since the election we speak out for women’s rights — for all rights, for freedom in the U.S. — and that we not let Trump-ism be normalized,” Senkbeil said.
Ellen Wolk, 57, of Waltham, said she wanted to come to the rally to channel the anger she felt after the election in a positive way.
“I feel that we all need to speak out, and I wanted to do something with the anger that I feel about what’s happening in this country and make it productive,” Wolk said. “In particular to women, I foresee a real push to get rid of Roe v. Wade, which I was in marches years ago to make that happen, and I just don’t want things to go backwards.”
Similar to Wolk, Demianna Secondino, 22, of Woburn, said she came to the event to put her words into action.
“[I chose to come to this event] to express my feelings on women’s issues, to raise awareness for women’s issues, to take action on these issues and to connect with other women who feel the same way,” Secondino said. “This is information that everyone should know and it affects everybody.”
As a women in STEM this is SO important to me. We need more discussion about how gender effects women in the classrooms, in the workforce and society in general. This piece evokes important societal issues that we choose to neglect. I am so proud that here at BU we have writters like Till who take initiative to talk about the tough issues.
As a WOMAN and a citizen of the WORLD, Till is an inspiring journalist and I passionately respect his ability to consider the perspectives of women, especially those who support the feminist movement. Till does an excellent job of evoking the deep emotions surrounding this controversial election. I really admire writers who talk to the people, learn more about their perspectives, and help to amplify the voice of those supporting a profoundly important cause.