Thousands of protesters in the United States to defend women's rights

Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday in the United States to defend the rights of women trimmed by them by the administration of Donald Trump but this third edition of the "March of Women" is marked by divisions within the movement on accusations of anti-Semitism.

Two separate processions. The dissensions drove a number of women to join a parallel organization, "March On," and the two movements marched separately across the country from Los Angeles to Chicago to Atlanta. On the eve of the second anniversary of the Republican President's inauguration, several tens of thousands of people attended the main rally outside the White House in Washington, DC, while the president was traveling outside the federal capital.

Pink hat. Many women, the majority in the procession, wore a pink cap became the emblem of the movement born in January 2017 to protest against the election of the billionaire. This year, the rallies also denounced the separation of the clandestine families arrested at the Mexican border, the anti-immigration border wall demanded by Donald Trump that the democratic opposition refuses, a conflict that causes the partial closure of the federal administrations since December 22 .

Less participation than last year. By 2018, the processions had brought together more than 500,000 people, driven by the #MeToo and Time's Up movements against harassment and sexual violence. The movement "began as a demonstration against Donald Trump but now it's more for the recognition of the problems faced by women around the world," said 27-year-old Ann-Carolyn, who was demonstrating in Washington Planned Parenthood, the leading family planning organization. In New York, 100,000 people were expected to participate in the "March On" parade along Central Park, according to police, half as much as a year earlier. The other rally, supported by the "March", was much less important.

"We will not let anyone take away our rights." The left-wing muse of the Democratic Party Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, elected from New York to the House of Representatives, hailed the election of a record number of women (131) in the parliamentary election of November 2018. " Last year, we put our power in the elections and this year we must put this power at the service of politics, "she said in front of the crowd where she had many supporters, promising the deposit of a bill on Equal Rights. "We will not let anyone take away our rights, in fact we will have more," said the youngest of Congress by advocating parity in salary or leave for each parent after the birth of a child.

Charges of anti-Semitism. As a sign of unity, she expressed herself in both gatherings. But the movement did indeed split after accusations of anti-Semitism against Tamika Mallory, one of the co-presidents of the "March", who attended a meeting of the leader of the movement "Nation of Islam" Louis Farrakhan , about regularly anti-Semites. US-Palestinian activist Linda Sarsour, another co-chair of the "March", refuted the accusations by asserting that the organization existed "to fight sectarianism and discrimination in all its forms, including homophobia and anti-Semitism ".

Anti-Trump. Many demonstrators regretted this split. "In a big movement, there are still disagreements," 42-year-old Kristen Morrissey, a mother of four, said in New York that there were "many more points of agreement than disagreement". between the two organizations. According to her, the opposition movement to Donald Trump remains strong: "It's so crazy to separate the children of immigrants and their parents at the border that all Americans should be scandalized," she said. In Washington, Medea Benjamin, head of the pacifist association Codepink, refuted the accusations against the leaders of the "March" which, according to her, "have been welcoming, loving and open since the beginning" of the movement.