Nina Donovan
2017 has been a year of strong women speaking out for equality, especially after Trump was inaugurated in January. Shortly after Inauguration Day, The Women’s March was held across the world to stand up for women’s rights, health, safety, and families. At the March in Washington, D.C., Ashley Judd performed the ‘Nasty Woman’ poem written by Nina Donovan. The poem, and its presentation, unified the crowd in D.C. and the congregations of women all across the globe. Although I wasn’t able to attend the Women’s March, I was moved to tears after watching a video of Judd reading Donovan’s poem online. Donovan wrote so eloquently on the struggles that accompany being a woman in a man’s world, touching on sexual assault, menstrual cycles, and the wage gap. She finished up the poem by listing influential women from throughout history who advanced women’s rights and demanded to be heard, like Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Michelle Obama, and, finally, Hillary Clinton.
My favorite line in the entire poem is Donovan’s poem served as a means to bring women together, no matter their race, social status, or sexual orientation, something that I was very moved by. Judd’s recital of the poem gave Donovan’s poem exposure and helped to encourage women all over the world.