Nearly 50 people braved Saturday’s frigid winds and blowing snow to join a Presque Isle protest in support of International Women’s Day.
From Chapman Street north to beyond Wilder’s Jewelry Store, people spilled onto both sides of Main Street, many carrying signs or flags.
The event joined local voices with those across the U.S. and beyond in an effort started by the United Nations 30 years ago to promote equal rights for women in all countries. This year’s theme, “For all women and girls: rights, equality, empowerment,” called for opportunities for all women and a “feminist future where no one is left behind,” the UN stated.
International Women’s Day has a special significance this year because 2025 is the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in which world leaders promised to work for equal rights, opportunities and safety for all girls and women, according to UN Women.
Elsewhere in Maine, hundreds turned out at the state capitol in Augusta, WGME reported.
Local organizer Melanie Tompkins was enthusiastic about the turnout, especially after Friday’s major snowstorm.
“For it to be literally snowing on us, freezing cold, I’m very proud of this group that has shown up to show their support,” she said. “And even the people driving by have been really supportive, with the honks and the cheers and the waves. So I think our community really does understand that women matter, we are important.”
Participants chatted together and waved at honking cars, carrying signs with such slogans as “Tax the rich,” “Protect trans kids,” “Women belong in the House and Senate,” “Empowered women, unstoppable force,” “Pro Roe” and, in a nod to recently suggested plans to close Presque Isle’s historic Social Security building, “Save our Social Security office.”
American flags and a flag that said “Human” in rainbow-colored letters waved among the crowd.
People came to support many rights, including education, health care and abortion access, child care and saving Medicaid funding, Tompkins said. As a licensed clinical social worker at a mental health agency, Tompkins works with many people who receive Medicaid, she said.
She also favored keeping women’s right to vote intact. She referenced the proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, which would require states to get proof of citizenship when registering a person to vote. The legislation could make it harder for some women — such as those who have changed their names because of marriage or can’t afford a passport — to prove their citizenship, she said.
For Jenn Crandall of Presque Isle, the protest was a chance to stand united with all women across the world. Women’s rights are diminished in many foreign countries, but it’s also important to continue to speak out for women’s rights in this country, she said.
“Personally for me, I am most concerned about equal pay,” she said. “For my daughters, I am definitely concerned about them having their own free health care choices and to make whatever choices they need to make for their lives and to build their families as they see fit.”
Equal rights should be for everyone: men and people of all races and colors as well. Women’s empowerment is about empowering whole communities, Crandall said.
