‘A Day Without a Woman’ strike puts some parents in bind amid school closures
While the “A Day Without a Woman” strike has been applauded by many as a feminist statement, it has one drawback that many women are criticizing: school closures are putting parents in a bind as to what to do with their children.
While many school districts closed to allow teachers and staff to participate in the strike, some of the closures were last minute. For example, Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland didn’t tell parents about the closures until Tuesday night.
“This is absolutely infuriating and uncalled for. Who gets punished here? The students. Especially those students who rely on the schools for food during the day. And never mind the fact that you’ve inconvenienced parents who now have to scramble for daycare at the last possible minute,” one person said on the district’s Facebook’s page.
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Similarly, one person wrote on Alexandria City Public Schools’s Facebook page, “This last-minute decision does a disservice to anyone in a family where both parents work full-time. What does ACPS expect those families to do about child care with such little notice? It also does a disservice to working women outside of ACPS, who now may be forced to stay home with their children.”
The complaints are part of a broader problem that the strike has faced, with many complaining of elitism, as only those who can afford to participate can do so.
However, others felt that the inconvenience was the whole point of the strike.
“Way to go Teachers! The whole point is to make people realize what an inconvenience it is when Women don’t show up. You are doing a brave and great thing. Thank you. (From a parent who is facing said inconvenience!)” said a parent on the Facebook page of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina
