By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

In Saudi Arabia, women were given the legal right to drive on June 24, 2018.

In America, women have had the advantage of being permitted to operate a vehicle since 1899.

But, there’s still a distance to go to gain equality. 

“It’s 2022 and we don’t have an equality amendment. We don’t have equal pay for women in the United States. We have the worse maternity leave policies in the world. We are also fighting for women’s autonomy over their own bodies,” said Bridgton resident Melinda Thomas.

Thomas — along with the collaboration of other women in the community — organized a dance routine to mark International Women’s Day this year. 

A flash mob consisting of about 40 dancers drew attention to International Women’s Day. The flash mob took place at noon on Tuesday in the parking lot on the right side of Big Apple in Bridgton.

“International Women’s Day is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 to commemorate the cultural political and socioeconomic achievements of women,” according to Wikipedia. 

The holiday can be traced back to 1909 in America, and involved protests in the garment industry, Wikipedia said.  

This year’s theme for the worldwide holiday is: “Gender equality for today for a sustainable tomorrow,” Thomas said.  

“I felt really great about the turnout. I felt very gratified. It was such a strong show of support,” she said.

Some of the women at the Bridgton event explained why International Women’s Day is meaningful to them and why it’s important to keep moving in the right direction. Several people said the turnout was impressive. 

“It was really exciting to have so many people participate. Some people we knew were going to be here. But there were a lot of people who just showed up today to participate,” according to Susie Guthro, who estimated about 40 people took part in the flash mob. 

“Turning around and dancing and seeing so many people involved, and even having spectators watching was really exciting. Very energizing,” she said. 

Additionally, the local event garnered attention at the county level. 

“It was exciting to have [Cumberland County] District Attorney Jonathan Sahrbeck show up. That was a huge surprise,” she said.

As the chair of the Bridgton Arts and Culture Subcommittee, Guthro helped the event get on its feet. 

“This was an event that we organized through the subcommittee to raise awareness on International Women’s Day to the culture of dance and importance of dance in the community as an art form,” Guthro said.

“I contributed some of the choreography,” she said.  

After 15 to 20 minutes of doing dance routines, a Congo line started up.

“That was fun. That was not planned. The very last song we kept it free and we were just dancing around and interacting with each other,” she said. “The Congo line just happened; it was really organic.” 

Planning the event started about six months ago, but most of the activity has been within the last month, she said. Flyers and social media spread the word, she said. 

What should Americans strive toward to accomplish gender equality? 

“Equal pay is probably the biggest thing. That is huge thing for me that a woman gets paid the same amount as a man for the same job,” Guthro said. 

“We are lucky to be Americans. It is International Women’s Day — a chance for us to shine the light on leaders and women in other countries that can help promote it,” she said. 

Ursula Flaherty, another resident of Bridgton, viewed the Congo line as a show of unity. The entire flash mob was a blast, she said. 

“It was fun. I didn’t know everybody. But it was so fun to bring us together,” Flaherty said. “We were making a statement for Women’s Day: Women being powerful and having fun.”

There is a long list of laws that could be passed to provide equal rights for women, but pay and childcare are top contenders, she said. 

“I think we should finally get the same pay. We should have equality in pay. We still have disparity after all these years,” Flaherty said. 

More than 50 percent of the children who use Bridgton Recreation programs live in single-parent homes. Those moms struggle with childcare costs on a single paycheck. Perhaps, there is something that the community could do to address that, she said.  

“When I was 20 I would say to people, ‘I’m a feminist.’ At that time people would practically spit at you. Now, a little less so,” she said. “Being a feminist is wanting equality. How can you be angry at equality?”

Samar Khuder, who works with Thomas for the New England Arab American Organization (NEAAO) held up a sign on neon pink poster board. 

“I wanted people to see the signs to draw attention because this is very important to us as women,” Khuder said. “As a Middle Eastern, Arab Muslim woman, I wanted to be part of this because I want that change and  I want equality for all women in the world, not just in the U.S. but internationally.”

“As you know, there have been changes around the world. For example, in Saudi Arabia,now women can drive,” she said. “These small changes matter to us. As long as we continue on making the right changes and standing up for our equality, there will be changes. Hopefully, one day we will reach that equality.”