THUNDER BAY -- The tradition of marching for rights on International Women's Day dates back to 1899 but in 2017, shifting political winds are mobilizing feminists to march in defence of the political and social rights women have already won.
"We've seen with events in recent years -- the election in the US -- growing concerns about racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and Indigenous rights," said Gwen O' Reilly, the coordinator of Northwestern Ontario Women's Centre.
"We can't take our rights for granted. We can't take our rights as women for granted or our rights as free people or our democracy for granted."
Under this year's theme, "women resist, women persist," O' Reilly said solidarity means confronting language and actions that devalue women.
"We need to speak up If we witness racism, if we witness racism or sexual assault or harassment, wen need to speak up about it. We need not to be silent. We need not to normalize it."
Pyteke Blaauw is the past president of the Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship. She echoed the sentiment expressed on a placard at the head of the march, which read, "I can't believe we're protesting still."
Blaauw worried for future generations that sexism is re-entering the public discourse in ways she thought long-gone.
"It's regressive and we women feel the clock is being turned back and we might lose many of the advantages and rights that were gained in the '50s.
"This is solidarity to make sure we can keep going forward."
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