TWSS’ Rosie Pundick ruminates on her experience at last month’s Bristol women’s march. Amidst the frankly terrifying political climate of Trump and Farage, her article explores marches as spaces of sisterhood and loudness, battling against the international stripping of our autonomy.

TW: Misogyny and sexual violence 

On Saturday 18^th January , I joined UBTV and Bristol Film school to march alongside hundreds of women in the streets of Bristol, calling for rights over our bodies, the right to have an abortion, the right to autonomy and the right to have our voices heard. The UK Women’s March’s objectives are grounded in the alarming increase in violence against women, as well as both Donald Trump and Nigel Farage’s proclamations over women’s autonomy. 

The march started in College Green, and ended in Castle Park. Women, spurred on by the collective support emanating out of every individual present, shared their personal stories in front of the crowd, putting faces and stories to the statistics we see posted on the news and social media. For me, this was the most powerful part of the march. Violence against women has increased by 37% since 2018 – a terrifying statistic made more visceral by the stories different women shared of prejudice, domestic violence and sexual assault. Women of all different ages spoke out against what had happened to them at the hands of men. Even in 2025, violence and prejudice against women continues to increase, threatening to undo decades of progress and fighting and forcing a regression to an era when women’s rights were scarcely recognised. 

Five years ago, I wrote an article about Poland’s decision to ban abortion. I remember how angry and outraged I was to find out that a country where my ancestors had originated from had made abortion illegal, darkening its present alongside its past. Poland stripped women of their basic right and barred them from leaving the country to access essential healthcare. Now, five years later, the person responsible for the overturn of Roe v Wade has been inaugurated again, positioning America alongside nations that control and dictate women’s bodies. Trump, a terrifyingly powerful player on the world stage, has reclaimed his place to set back years of women’s work and progress. The ‘land of the free’ has become the land of the imprisoned, the land where despite supposed democracy, women in certain states are unable to access an abortion despite the circumstances. In our own country, Trump ally Nigel Farage has already attempted to spark a debate about abortion, advocating for reducing the legal limit to 22 weeks. This has reignited a disturbing and terrifying conversation where, once again, men are attempting to control women’s bodies whilst simultaneously leaving them abandoned and unsupported by their government – forced to carry pregnancies they should have the right to terminate. 

Another of the march’s key focuses was the lack of freedom women have in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, every time I open the news about Afghanistan there has been another law passed to imprison women as passive objects in the home. They are subject to unspeakable violence, repression and other inhumane acts, and are not protected by anyone. Young girls can marry, they can’t work or go to school, and are forced to dress in head-to-toe clothing. And yet those who flee will now be refused by America as Trump blocks immigrants and makes the process essentially impossible. Therefore, a country that promotes ideas of freedom is strengthening its borders and preventing immigrants from seeking refuge when they need it the most. Another move backwards.

 

Therefore, women have to and are still fighting. Despite all the horrifying news, the Women’s March showed me that thousands of women globally are not willing to lay down and accept the state of the world. From women who have been fighting for years, part of the second wave feminists, to young girls beaming and joining in with the chants, proves that together, women who want to fight are stronger than the men who want to control us. When we arrived at castle park, there was a little girl who started her own chant, one that has stuck in my head: ‘Make Girls Loud’. Completely unaware of her impact, this child held up her banner and repeatedly chanted ‘Make Girls Loud’ as the crowd replied to her, uplifting her and giving her communal support. Whilst she may not have exactly known what she was chanting, she is right, because every single women at that march was loud. Loud about our bodily autonomy, about our right to exist freely, loud at how women have suffered time and time again. 

When you feel like there is nothing you can do, seek other women. Hear their stories, share your own, and carry on talking about every single issue. This march proved to me that in a world where it feels like you can’t do anything, showing up and taking part is everything. 

Please follow @ukwomensmarch on Instagram to read their mission statement and for videos and pictures of the march.