We march for the climate. We march for women.

Things have been pretty bad for Mother Earth lately. Our country currently has a president who believes that climate change is a Chinese hoax and an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head who does not believe in protecting the environment. It’s only been 100 days, and Trump has already pushed through the Dakota Access Pipeline and reopened discussions for the Keystone XL Pipeline, both dangerous fossil fuel projects which we thought had been defeated. His administration is threatening public lands, considering pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, rolling back regulations of dangerous greenhouse gases, and proposing budget cuts that would eviscerate the EPA.

When the safety of our planet is being so ruthlessly attacked from all angles, feminists need to stand up. Climate change hasn’t been a traditionally feminist issue, but it is already affecting every single woman on earth. When communities are hit by natural disasters, or poisoned by pollution from power plants or oil drilling, it’s women who respond to care for society’s most vulnerable. It’s women who are put in charge of feeding people in moments of food insecurity, and low-income women who are forced to overcome terrifying crises when they are already struggling to survive.

The only way to protect our communities from the ravages of climate change and to organize against the fossil fuel industry is with strong communities and robust social safety nets – the maintenance of which has traditionally been women’s work.

This weekend, thousands of people across the globe are hitting the streets to demand that their governments take action against climate change – or in our case, that they stop denying that climate change is real. The People’s Climate Mobilization will be centered in D.C, with sister marches across the U.S., throughout Europe, in South America, Africa, China and New Zealand.

No matter which action you attend, you will probably see women on the stage, holding a megaphone, or on the sidelines, coordinating march routes and permits. From the Dakota Access Pipeline, to the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil, to violent ranchers in Honduras, women, particularly women of color, have been leading the resistance for the future of our planet.

So don’t let up now. See you out there.

Image Credit: Emily Arasim via We Can International