Hundreds rally in Philadelphia in honor of International Women’s Day [photos]

Bucks County resident Nicole Melara spent the day in her pajamas — her Wonder Woman pajamas, to be exact.

“I said, ‘Ya know what? I’m just not gonna get dressed,” she said, wearing a white fuzzy robe to keep her warm.

Melara and her 14-year-old daughter were among the hundreds of protesters who marched through Center City Wednesday evening in honor of International Women’s Day.

The march was also part of a global strike in which women were encouraged to stay home from work, wear red and avoid shopping to protest gender inequality.

“Feminism means equality, but it also means standing up for those who don’t have the right to stand up and making sure that people are taken care of because that’s one of the things women are famous for doing, is taking care of people,” Melara said.

Philadelphia resident Claudette Cantave-King took the day off from her job as an accounts receivable clerk.

“When people call about their bill, they’ll have to wait another day and my invoices didn’t get out today,” she said. “If we don’t stand for something, we’ll sit for anything, so it’s time to take a stand.”

Chanting protesters raised a laundry list of issues from domestic violence to and the gender wage gap to health care and police brutality. 

Hsioning Tu, also of Philadelphia, said she came to the rally to take a stand against misogyny.

“I’m Chinese, I came from a very sexist culture,” she said. “I thought in the West women should be treated more equally and then I realized, discriminating [against] women is universal.”

She said she hopes this new era of near-constant protests will unite women and men against inequality of all kinds.