In January, almost half a million people joined the Women’s March in Washington, DC while tens of thousands more marched in smaller protests across the country. The Women’s March has been called the largest single day protest in recorded American history–and the organizers behind the march are not letting their momentum fade. This week, they announced plans for a “Day Without a Woman,” a general strike for women across the country and perhaps even around the globe.

Details on when the strike will take place have yet to be released but a surge of support is evident across social media platforms. The successful Women’s Strike on Inauguration Day, during which over 7,000 workers went on strike from “both paid and unpaid work,” could serve as a valuable template for organizers of a national strike. Those who marched in January seem ready and willing to strike so the challenge for the organizers may not be mass participation but instead efficacy.

Strikes often shut down a single sector of a single industry–a school, a factory, a mine–but they can also go city or district-wide, forcing local governments and employers to cave under pressure. Shutting down a company on a national level is a herculean task, but it can be done–however, the Women’s March organizers are not targeting a single company, or even a single industry. Their vision involves women (and men who would strike in solidarity) striking in the same vein as the Black Monday protests for women’s reproductive health that took place in Poland in 2016–a national day of strike in every industry, at every level, so large that it could not be represented by a single union or cause.

This type of strike could make for a second wave of impressive protests across the nation but it won’t necessarily cripple the economy of the country–strikers will take a vacation day or an unpaid day off and then return to work the next day. The strikers themselves will be the ones who will have to make a sacrifice, as their employers likely won’t lose any money from an employee being absent for a single day.

The Black Monday strikes were powerful but did not come close to stalling the economy of Poland. Unions have historically found strength in the length of their strikes–going without heat, teachers, or transport infuriates the public and makes a company or regulator cave to public demand for a return to usual service. However, when a strike is not concentrated on a single industry, public services and the general economy continue to operate as per usual. Another challenge for the strike will be laying out a concise set of demands. The Black Monday protests were targeted toward a single abortion bill, which ultimately did not pass, whereas the Women’s Strike would be working against a larger set of issues and legislation.

The Women’s Strike is only in its infancy, barely even a viable practice at the moment, yet it seems to be a largely symbolic act. That being said, a national strike can still open important dialogues, influence the opinions of elected officials, and engage citizens who may have been apathetic in the past. Ultimately, the strike will not disrupt the American economy but it will unite women in a common act of civil disobedience.

Jillian Sequeira

Jillian Sequeira was a member of the College of William and Mary Class of 2016, with a double major in Government and Italian. When she’s not blogging, she’s photographing graffiti around the world and worshiping at the altar of Elon Musk and all things Tesla. Contact Jillian at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com

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President Donald Trump had said from the beginning of his campaign that he wanted to set up a registry for Muslims. And over the past few days, he has been moving forward with some of his other anti-immigration campaign promises, such as ordering the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico. He is also planning to sign orders that would reduce the number of refugees that are let into the U.S. annually, and impose a temporary ban on most refugees. But people are fighting back. Yesterday, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said she is ready to register as a Muslim in solidarity if Trump makes that registry a reality.

Albright tweeted:

I was raised Catholic, became Episcopalian & found out later my family was Jewish. I stand ready to register as Muslim in #solidarity.

— Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) January 25, 2017

Albright also tweeted a picture of the Statue of Liberty, writing, “America must remain open to people of all faiths & backgrounds.” She was born in Prague in 1937, but fled to England during World War II. Later, her family immigrated to the U.S. and she became the first female secretary of state during the Clinton Administration. She didn’t learn that her family was Jewish and that three of her grandparents died in a concentration camp until she was older.

Albright is echoing feminist icon Gloria Steinem, who gave a powerful speech in front of the crowds of protesters at the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday. She said, “Do not try to divide us. If you force Muslims to register, we will all register as Muslims.”

Gloria Steinem at #WomensMarch: “If you force Muslims to register, we will all register as Muslims.” https://t.co/uxbbk30Fzv

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 21, 2017

More people followed their example and tweeted that they are also ready to register in solidarity with Muslim-Americans. “Big Bang Theory” actress Mayim Bilaik, who also is Jewish, was one of them.

I’m Jewish. I stand ready to register as a Muslim in #solidarity if it comes to that.

— Mayim Bialik (@missmayim) January 25, 2017

The CEO of the Anti Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, who spoke at a summit on anti-Semitism in November, gave the same promise. He said:

I pledge to you right here and now, because I care about the fight against anti-Semitism, that if one day in these United States, if one day Muslim-Americans will be forced to register their identities, then that is the day that this proud Jew will register as a Muslim.

An inspiring moment from our #NeverIsNow summit, @JGreenblattADL pledged to register in solidarity if there was a Muslim-American registry: pic.twitter.com/GQrWZbLErP

— ADL (@ADL_National) January 15, 2017

President Trump has also promised to crack down on sanctuary cities in the U.S., increase deportations, and said that he believes that torture works.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Madeleine Albright is Ready to Register as a Muslim appeared first on Law Street.

Groups of Canadians and Europeans headed to the Women’s March on Washington claim they were detained and denied entry at the U.S. border after disclosing plans to attend the protests. According to Joseph Decunha from Montreal, the first thing the border agent asked him was, “are you anti- or pro-Trump?” He was traveling on Thursday with two American citizens and they shared their plans to attend the march with the border agents. All of them were then required to be photographed and have their fingerprints stamped. In the end, the Americans could cross but Decunha wasn’t allowed. He said:

They told me I was being denied entry for administrative reasons. According to the agent, my traveling to the United States for the purpose of protesting didn’t constitute a valid reason to cross.

Decunha said that the border agent also asked him if he had travelled to the Middle East and if he believes in violence. “It’s concerning to see that at border crossings you’re being screened for what your political beliefs are,” he said. “It felt like, if we had been pro-Trump, we would have absolutely been allowed entry.”

US Border Patrol is asking people if they’re pro/anti-Trump, denying people entry if they’re attending the March https://t.co/75vaUPdVK9

— Kelly Hills (@rocza) January 21, 2017

Sasha Dyck was in another group of eight people—six Canadians, two French citizens—who traveled in two cars to the same border crossing as Decunha, located between St Bernard de Lacolle in Quebec and Champlain in New York. When they stated that they intended on attending the women’s march, the border agents reportedly told them to pull over and started a two-hour interrogation. They also had to provide their fingerprints and be photographed. Agents searched the contents of their phones, as well as their cars. France is a part of the Visa Waiver Program that lets foreign nationals enter the U.S. without a visa. But the agents told the French citizens they would need to apply for one if they wanted to enter the U.S. in the future.

And so it begins…Canadians, including a dual Cdn-US citizen, denied entry to USA. https://t.co/BtD0QPsJMD

— NutkinNB (@NutkinNB) January 20, 2017

Dyck said the agents told the rest of the group that they were “headed home today” without any reason given. The agents said that if they tried to cross the border again that weekend, they would be arrested. But Dyck also drove to the U.S. after Obama’s win in 2009, and says that was a very different experience: “I couldn’t even get in for this one, whereas at the other one, the guy at the border literally gave me a high five when I came in and everybody was just like, ‘welcome,’” he said. He holds dual citizenship, but didn’t have his American passport with him this time.

Yet another group of people was allegedly stopped at the same border crossing the same day. British man Joe Kroese was driving to Washington with one Canadian and two Americans to participate in the women’s march when they were stopped. They also went through the same steps of questioning, fingerprints, and photos, after which Kroese and his Canadian friend were denied entry and told to not try to travel to the U.S. for a couple of months.

Kroese, who is a student in Montreal, reports that he was told the same thing as the French citizens—that he would need a visa if traveling to the U.S. in the future. “They took my phone and started going through my texts,” he said. He also said there was another car with Canadians heading to the march, and the agents asked the driver of that car if he practiced Islam and if he spoke Arabic. “They wanted to spook us a bit. It felt like a kind of intimidation.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has not responded to media’s requests for comment, but has said in statements that it can’t comment on individual cases for privacy reasons.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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