An unusually high number of leave requests were recorded in Virginia and Alexandria school districts prompting schools to close on March 8. This was because of the "A Day Without a Woman" event, which urged female workers to stay at home.
The national day of protest led to the cancellation of all classes for all students in Virginia and Alexandria. Officials from Alexandria said around 300 staff members took the Wednesday off because of the event, which is in connection with the International Women's Day. "A Day Without a Woman" wanted to emphasize the importance of women in the labor force.
Alexandria Superintendent Alvin L. Crawley said in a statement the decision to close schools was not made lightly and they based their decision on their ability to provide the sufficient number of staff to classes. Crawley added the insufficient number of staff will impact student safety and delivery of instruction, The Washington Post reported. The 16 schools in Alexandria have 1,415 teachers and thousands of students as well.
The "A Day Without a Woman" is organized by the same team that was behind the successful Women's March in Washington last January. The Women's March came after Donald Trump assumed office as the president of the United States. The group said "A Day Without a Woman" is a strike for equity, justice, and the human rights of not only women but also all gender-oppressed. The group called the one-day event as a demonstration of economic solidarity, as per CNN.
Aside from taking the day off, women are also urged to avoid shopping and wear red in solidarity for the event. Apart from Virginia and Alexandria school districts, those in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina had to cancel their classes because of the number of teachers who took part of the strike.
The "A Day Without a Woman," a first of its kind event took place weeks after another protest called "Day Without Immigrants" all over the country. It came after Trump's first executive order over the travel ban.
