For the third year in a row, women and their allies took to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to participate in the Women’s March, a national demonstration in support of women.

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PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS '22/THE HAWK

The event on Jan. 19 was different from previous years, as there were two marches taking place in Center City—one affiliated with the national Women’s March organization and one organized by Philly Women Rally.

Philly Women Rally began their march at Logan Square and ended at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where protestors crowded around a stage in front of the museum steps to hear from speakers and performers. The second protest organized by Women’s March Pennsylvania took place at LOVE Park.

Leila Benjamin ’20 attended the march hosted by Philly Women Rally with other St. Joe’s students for the first time.

“I saw a lot of my friends go last year and they had a great time watching all of the signs and walking with all of their friends for a cause that they believed in, so I definitely wanted to be part of it this time around,” Benjamin said.

The Women’s March kicked off in 2017 as reaction to President Donald Trump’s inauguration and continues today amid the recent #MeToo movement that calls for an end to sexual violence.

Signs in the crowd also pointed to the current government shutdown as a reason for attending, as well as discrimination against the LGBTQ community, immigrants, people of color and women alike.

Sophie Escario ’21 said she attended the march for the first time to show support for these different issues.

“I wanted to go to stand out not only for myself but for all women, for all different causes like sexual harassment, equal pay and pro choice rights for women,” Escario said.

Participants represented different causes as well as different generations.

“There were a lot of age groups from old to young, and they were all there for the same cause,” Benjamin said. “That was really inspiring and something I felt was worth my time.”