Northwest Arkansas residents rallied in the Bentonville Square Saturday, Jan. 18 for abortion rights and other causes they believe are under threat from the Trump administration, part of a larger nationwide movement of similar marches that took place across the country.

The Women’s March in Bentonville, sponsored by LOUDWomen, an Arkansas-based nonprofit, and The People’s March, focused on abortion rights, immigration rights, transgender rights, supporting climate change efforts and protesting book bans, among other issues. 

The march was one of many protests and rallies planned ahead of Monday’s presidential inauguration. The first nationwide Women’s March was held eight years ago at the start of President Donald Trump’s first term. 

While marchers were there in support of a variety of issues, abortion rights were a dominant focus of the event. Protestors, who gathered in front of the Benton County Courthouse before marching around the Square, held signs that referenced women’s health care, such as “Women Need Choices,” “Keep Your Laws Out of My Uterus,” and “Trust Women.”

Bentonville Women’s March organizer Anna Dean said Arkansas had one of the nation’s worst maternal mortality rates before Roe was overturned and that it has gotten worse since 2022. 

Springdale residents Diane and Bill Vigeant attended the march Saturday to protest positions of the new presidential administration. Diane, 73, said she has fought for abortion rights in the past.

“I did this 50 years ago and I really did not expect to be out here doing it again but I have a daughter and a granddaughter, great grandchildren — we are fighting for their future too,” she said.

Shannon Deputy said that women are losing their right to bodily autonomy and that they are dying due to the abortion restrictions in Arkansas.

“Not only losing their choice, but literally losing their lives as doctors are forced to make the decision to not help them until sometimes it’s too late,” she said.

Amy Wilson, a Fayetteville resident, said she was at the march mainly to support reproductive choice, but also for other rights that are “slowly being taken away from us.”

“We are living in a state that is not at all friendly to women,” she said.

Dot Neely, a Fayetteville resident, said she wanted to participate in civic freedoms and the right to freedom of speech. 

“We have let go of our engagement over time. People don’t understand that it’s important for us in our own self governance to be engaged, and it begins with us,” she said. “We elect people to represent us, and if they are not representing us, they need to be held accountable.”

The march began with speeches from Dean and Kelly Krout, the former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor who ran with Chris Jones in 2022. Krout encouraged the crowd to run for elected office, saying everyone is qualified to run if they care. She said that in 2024, 77% of Arkansas elections, from City Council to Congress, went unopposed.

“If we don’t have an option on our ballot, on principle, we are not acting out and using democracy,” she said. “We need more people involved, and it is incredibly important work. Even if you don’t win, you can still inspire hope.”

Dina Nash, a retired social worker, encouraged the crowd to sign up for the 5 Calls app, which helps users contact their elected officials to voice an opinion on any topic.

Dean said she founded LOUDWomen in 2016, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering young women in Arkansas. The organization works with students in Northwest Arkansas on policy research and advocacy. Some of the policy projects they have worked on include gun violence, diversifying public school curriculum, book bans and reproductive health.

“If you are in college, if you are a high school student, if you know high school students, get them involved, because they are the future. They are going to change the state of Arkansas,” she said.