Not because they wanted to but because the moment demanded it.
“No one wants to protest,” one Women’s March 4 Justice protester told 9News.
“No one wants to walk the streets and demand to be respected.
“This shouldn’t be a reality, but it is.”
The movement that began with a tweet rolled into Monday as a powerful force for change as organisers registered more than 40 rallies around the country.
They were demanding all politicians address and “put an end to the issues of sexism, misogyny, dangerous workplace cultures and lack of equality in politics and the community at large”.
“We are here because it is unfathomable that we are still having to fight this same stale, tired fight,” she said.
“It’s time our leaders on both sides of politics stop avoiding the public and side-stepping accountability. It’s time we actually address the problem.”
Federal Liberal MP Katie Allen told Today she was “disappointed” with the decision and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack refused to commit to or rule out attending the rally.
But in Brisbane, there was no such hesitancy, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Deputy Premier Steven Miles, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath and other senior politicians lending their support.
Marchers’ banners and voices wound down rainy Edward and Charlotte streets in the CBD.
It’s unclear how many protesters joined in but some said it was the largest crowd they’d ever seen.
“We don’t need another survey, we don’t need training, we need action now,” Queensland Council of Unions assistant general secretary Jacqueline King told the assembled masses.
Further afield they took to the streets on the Sunshine Coast and in Cairns.
“All the incidents in our lives, the mistreatments, the sexual harassment, discrimination, we’ve had a gut full, it’s over,” another marcher said.
This content first appear on 9news