Among the hundreds of thousands who gathered in Washington for the Women’s March On Washington on Saturday, Yukoner Tina Woodland says she has come away inspired to get to work on local issues.

Already a member of the Whitehorse Food Bank’s board, Woodland said she will continue efforts there as well as look at what she can do to help with the need for affordable housing in Whitehorse.

Like many, she said she is coming away from the weekend march inspired to do more at the local level.

“I think we’re at a turning point,” she said in an interview this morning as she reflected on her experience over the weekend, noting she is “still processing” the march.

Back in November, she and her daughter Talia (who is attending school in Toronto) booked tickets to Washington to attend the rally set for the day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As organizers said at the time, the movement’s aim was to “send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights.”

At that time, similar protests had not been planned for elsewhere around the world (including Whitehorse), and the Woodlands wanted to add their voices and presence to the movement.

Tina commented that after seeing the “disrespect” Trump showed to women, viable minorities and those with disabilities, it was important to send a message that such disrespect and comments are “not OK.”

The Woodlands arrived at the march at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, a full 1 1/2 hours ahead of the 10 a.m. start.

Already a massive crowd was out in full force.

The mother/daughter duo could not get anywhere near the podiums or even the screens telecasting the speeches.

However, it was incredibly inspiring, said Tina, who noted she’d never been part of such a protest previously.

“Everybody was just standing shoulder-to-shoulder,” she said, adding every state was represented in the crowd, as were many countries.

Many of the Americans in the gathering thanked those who had travelled great distances to add their voices, including the Woodlands, Tina said.

As the 10 a.m. start time approached, the entire route of the march was packed with an estimated half-million people. The energy, Tina said, was incredibly positive.

“It was amazing,” she said.

The long list and wide variety of speakers included activist and writer Gloria Steinem, filmmaker Michael Moore, and actor and humanitarian Ashley Judd among 44 others who each brought their own perspective and words to the crowd.

As they listened to what Tina described as inspiring words from the speakers, word came through the crowd of the marches happening around the world.

Those included Whitehorse, where an estimated 300 people braved the nearly -40 C temperature to take to the streets downtown for the local march.

“I am so proud,” Tina said of her reaction to the Whitehorse event.

The many marches held in solidarity throughout North America did not come as a big surprise to Tina.

However, she said it was somewhat surprising that it became an international effort, with the Women’s March On Washington events happening around the world.

It’s estimated 408 marches took place in the U.S., with organizers reporting 673 worldwide, including 29 in Canada.

Tina recalled a message relayed from organizers of a march in Berlin, Germany to the U.S. crowd, aimed at Trump: “Walls don’t work.”

The reaction around the world, Tina said, shows that women’s issues are human rights issues and there’s a lot of work to do in many areas.

“It’s time for change,” she said, noting the hope the march gave her in working toward that change.

See more photos of the Whitehorse march in Tuesday’s edition.