These were times when people stood up for each other and for what was correct, to make a very bold statement that the one being wrongly punished is not alone. 

1. When teachers Manuel Ortega and Borja Velázquez in Spain decided to wear skirts to school after one of their students was bullied by the other for wearing a hoodie with manga motifs. The teachers’ aim was to drive home the point that clothes do not have gender.

A report quoted Velázquez as saying that they did it “to show that we should be open to change and that words cause harm”.

2. When around 100 boys from Collège Nouvelles Frontières in Gatineau, Quebec, wore skirts to protest against a rule by the school authorities that the skirts worn by the girls have to be maximum 10 centimeters above the knee. The boys pointed out how there was no equivalent rule for them, and pleaded that such sexualisation of women should be stopped.

3. When students of White Bear Lake in Minnesota organised a walkout and gathered in the parking lot to show solidarity towards African-American classmates who were receiving racist messages from an anonymous Instagram account.

They marched and passed the mic to Black, Indigenous, People of Color to share their experiences of racial injustice.

4. When a group of parents gathered in a park to introduce an 8-year-old named Eden to new friends. Students had bullied Eden in the past and one of them even knocked off her tooth. When her mother posted about it on social media, other parents took it upon themselves to let the little girl know that she is not alone in this fight and worthy of all the love.

5. When thousands of Google employees walked out of work to fight for equal pay, swift action in cases of sexual misconduct, and a safe environment for to report the same. This happened a week after reports of Android software operating system, Andy Rubin, harassing a woman employee featured in the New York Times.

6. When the students of St Francis College for Women in Hyderabad, staged a protest against the dress code that said that they had to wear kurtis that were below the knee and had sleeves. When the women asked for an explanation, they were told that this needs to be done because “the male staff is uncomfortable” and also because this will get them “get good marriage proposals”.

The protest was strong and the college had to withdraw the rule.

7. When boys from San Benito High School in the US wore off-shoulder tops after 20 girls were sent home for doing the same. The reason? The school wanted to “keep the kids safe”. Classic.

8. When the entire town in Texas came out to support a local bakery after one of its homophobic clients cancelled orders because of rainbow-themed cookies. The owner of the cafe posted about this on social media and some days later, there was a long line outside the small shop, of people waiting to buy cookies as a gesture to say “thank you, we stand with you”.

As the saying goes, “Stronger together”.