Phoenix Women’s March is the informal Arizona chapter of the Women’s March activist coalition. It champions abortion access and protests conservative lawmakers and politicians such as former President Donald Trump.

Activities

Phoenix Women’s March organized a protest in 2020 at the Arizona state capitol ahead of the presidential election. Prior to the protest, Phoenix Women’s March recruited and trained volunteers to register attendants to vote. Volunteers walked through the protest with clipboards, “No Trump” pins, and “liberal looking t-shirt[s]” as they registered people to vote based on training protocols from Field Team 6 and Swing Left, two left-of-center voter mobilization groups. Phoenix Women’s March offered volunteers carpooling options as well as overnight housing with members of their network. Interested individuals were told to contact Richard Gooding, an employee of the Arizona Blue 2020 political action committee (PAC). ¹

In October 2021, protestors in the thousands descended on the Arizona Capitol for another Phoenix Women’s March event in support of abortion rights. The action was organized in response to a Mississippi challenge to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that affirmed a purported right to abortion at the national level. ² It was also responding to a Texas law effectively banning abortions after six weeks’ fetal gestation, and the fear that this could happen in several other states. ³

Phoenix Women’s March held a demonstration again in October 2022, this time accompanied by Democratic gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs (who went on to win the governorship). Hobbs at the time told the crowd: “Let’s fight like women’s lives are on the line, because they are.”  ⁴

According to the organization’s Facebook page, as of December 2023 its last action was in January 2023. It involved a march at the Arizona State Capitol to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The march was held in conjunction with the “Fuck My Drag Right!?” protest, an anti-transphobia and pro-LGBT rights demonstration on the Capitol lawn. ⁵ One of the activists, profiled by AZ Central, was drag performer Xyra Flores, the coordinator for Trans Queer Pueblo. ⁶

Leadership

One of the co-chairs of Phoenix Women’s March, Azza Abuseif, is the executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Arizona and sat on CAIR Arizona’s board of directors from 2018 to 2021. Abuseif is also known for her role in Arizona’s immigration rights and civic engagement movements. ⁷

Previously, Abuseif worked as the state director for NextGen America in Arizona. ⁸ NextGen was founded in 2013 as “NextGen Climate” by left-wing billionaire Tom Steyer when it was primarily an environmentalist group, but rebranded as “NextGen America” in 2017 when it expanded in scope to the national level, particularly to oppose then-President Donald Trump. ⁹  During her time at NextGen, Abuseif led a youth voter mobilization campaign for a presidential election which has been described as “one of the largest youth turnouts for a presidential election in Arizona history.” ¹⁰

In 2021, one of the lead organizers of the Phoenix Women’s March was Eva Burch, who told the Arizona Republic that her group “hope[s] to send a message to our elected leaders that these sorts of laws will not be met unopposed in Arizona” in reference to anti-abortion legislation in other states. ¹¹

1. “Phoenix Women’s March!! Register every member of the AZ Resistance! – Voter Registration.” Mobilize.us. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/event/176818/.
2. “Roe v. Wade (1973).” Legal Information Institute (LII), Cornell University. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/roe_v_wade_(1973).
3. Frank, BrieAnna J. “Thousands expected at Arizona Capitol for Women’s March this Saturday.” AZ Central, October 1, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2021/10/01/2021-womens-march-expected-draw-thousands-arizona-capitol/5951380001/.
4. Cathey, Libby; Hutzler, Alexandra. “Arizona Democrats join Women’s March for abortion rights: ‘We are on a razor’s edge.’” ABC News, October 8, 2022. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/arizona-democrats-join-womens-march-abortion-rights-razors/story?id=91216953.
5. “Forward – 50^th Anniversary of Roe.” Women’s March Phoenix – Facebook. January 11, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3276713845914290&set=ecnf.100077006534615.
6. Willard, Emily. “’A violation of our rights’: Protesters march at Capitol against anti-drag performance bills.” AZ Central, January 22, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2023/01/23/protestors-march-at-arizona-capitol-against-anti-drag-performance-bills/69830036007/.
7. “Azza Abuseif.” CAIR Arizona. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://cair-az.org/in-the-news/azza-abuseif-2/.
8.  “Azza Abuseif.” CAIR Arizona. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://cair-az.org/in-the-news/azza-abuseif-2/.
9. “NextGen Climate Expands Mission, Relaunches As NextGen America.” NextGen America. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://nextgenamerica.org/press/nextgen-climate-expands-mission-relaunches-nextgen-america/.
10. “Azza Abuseif.” CAIR Arizona. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://cair-az.org/in-the-news/azza-abuseif-2/.
11. Frank, BrieAnna J. “Thousands expected at Arizona Capitol for Women’s March this Saturday.” AZ Central, October 1, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2021/10/01/2021-womens-march-expected-draw-thousands-arizona-capitol/5951380001/.