Why We Protest: A Personal Reflection on the Power of Resistance

Protesting is more than just gathering in the streets—it’s an act of defiance, a demand for justice, and a way for people to say, “We will not be silent.” Throughout history, protests have shaped the world we live in today, from the fight for women’s rights to the resistance against war.

I think about the women who marched for the right to vote, facing arrests and brutality just for demanding equality. The suffragettes in the early 1900s, and later the feminists of the ‘60s and ‘70s, refused to accept a world where their voices didn’t matter. Their protests laid the foundation for the rights many take for granted today—but the fight is far from over.

Anti-war protests have also been some of the most courageous in history. In the 1930s and ‘40s, as Hitler rose to power, brave individuals and resistance groups across Europe and beyond risked their lives to speak out against fascism. From the White Rose movement in Germany, where young students secretly distributed anti-Nazi pamphlets, to mass demonstrations in countries occupied by the Nazis, people refused to stand by in silence. Even in the face of brutal crackdowns, they showed that resistance, no matter how dangerous, was necessary.

Protesting matters because silence is complicity. It forces those in power to listen, even when they’d rather ignore us. Whether marching for reproductive rights, peace, or basic human dignity, every protest is a declaration that people will always rise up against oppression. And that gives me hope.