Business Standard

After marching against Trump, these women are now running for office

Image

ANI New York [U.S.]

Certain women who were devastated with the election results and watched horror-struck as Donald Trump became the President of the United States of America, have now decided to take matter into their own hands and plunge headfirst into American politics.

30-year-old graphic designer lyson Leahy remembers sobbing as election results came in.

"I felt that Trump's win was the quintessential example of an unqualified man winning over an incredibly qualified woman. And the idea that people I knew, that I was related to, voted for that man ... it made me sick. It also made me realize that everyday involvement is key, and that I couldn't afford to sit around anymore sharing Facebook posts and avoiding real work," Leahy said.

 

It was an incredibly personal choice after the election for Leahy and several other women who followed suit, says Erin Forrest, executive director at Emerge Wisconsin, a group which is part of Emerge America, founded in 2002 to identify female community leaders and train them to run for office, reports CNN.

"It's watching the most qualified person, watching a woman get so close to becoming president, watching what she went through, and losing, to arguably the least qualified person to run for president. [It is] deeply personal," says Forrest.

Leahy is just one of more than 400 women in the United States this year, who Emerge America says, are going through its six month, 70-hour training program.

Meanwhile for 29-year-old Charisse Daniels, the election was nothing short of a kick in the gut as it completely changed her perspective, which is when she made the decision to run for mayor of Watertown.

Many women like Leahy and Daniels are making radical life changes in order to bring about the very change that they so strongly stand for.

Yesterday, stressing on the need for more women in politics, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had credited her family, friends and many of the women she had mentored with for giving her the strength to bounce back after losing to Donald Trump in the elections.

Highlighting the need of bringing women into the political sphere, Clinton spoke assertively on the need for more women to run for office.

"Let us hope there is a wave of young women running for office in America. And let's be sure we support them, in every way we can. Let's help them shatter stereotypes and lift each other up," she said.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Mar 09 2017 | 5:09 AM IST

Explore News