El Centro Women’s March protests push to fill Supreme Court seat

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - Sure Helpline Crisis Center join others to raise awareness for women's rights.

The event began at 10 a.m. and majority, if not all, of attendants wore the worldwide famous pussy hat. The hat is meant to represent the women and the oppression they are fighting against.

Margaret Sauza, executive director of Sure Helpline Crisis Center, has been an advocate for sexual assault survivors and all women across the nation for more than 20 years.

She was inspired to bring the awareness event to alert men and women about the reality of the current world. She hopes to raise awareness for people to go out to vote and make a change by voting.

"If we are not going to speak up, then we are part of the oppressor. And we're in the times right now where there's a lot of oppression," says Sauza.

Along with Sauza, many others attended the event. Raúl Ureña (currently running for Calexico City Council), Maritza Hurtado (former mayor of Calexico), Consuelo S. (Spanish Lead Advocate at Sure Helpline Center) were some of the many who attended.

Helen Diaz Molina (currently running for HPUD at Heber Elementary School District), Board Member at Sure Helpline Crisis Center, attended the awareness event as well.

Molina hopes to "bring awareness to young females, to anybody that that has been quiet and not able to say what they feel."

Molina has been helping Margaret Suaza and "strongly believes" in what Margaret is doing and wants the best for the community.

Four moderators of the Sure Helpline Crisis Center TikTok channel were present at the event as well.

Annette Figueroa, Fernanda Guerra, Priscilla Lopez-Franco, Edu Pizano are all social work students from NAU. The four students partnered with Sure Helpline Crisis Center to spread more awareness through a digital platform.

They hope for people to share their voices and reach out to others who have felt as if without a voice and are hoping to use the app as a resource for the community.

"It's easy to forget that we have a voice, so coming to events like this and partnering with such empowering women is really important," says Lopez-Franco. "It's important to remember that we have to come out here, listen to the stories, and also share our own stories because without it, there's no sense of community in a time where we really do need a community."

With the recent nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett by President Trump, many have shown their support in the decision, and many have shown their disagreement.

This protest is meant to raise awareness to protest against filling Ruth Bater Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat until after the election.

Maribel Padilla, Community Organizer for Planned Parenthood, says, "no confirmation until inauguration."

"We are protesting that RGB is being replaced by a woman that actually had all the doors opened for her because of RBG, and now, we feel, that she's going to get up in the court and close them for the rest of us and the rest of the women," says Padilla.

A majority of the people attending the event stated they believe the U.S. should wait until after the election to fill the seat.

Priscilla Lopez-Franco says, "I would hope that the person who is elected in that position will be representative to the work that Ruth Bader Ginsburg did and the morals and the values that she stood for."

"This is something we shouldn't even be doing right now. What's the rush? It's not right that that's being done," says Margaret Sauza.