So, she protests, even if for nothing but her soul. Protests, even when unsuccessful, are an announcement to the world, according to writer Premchand, that we are alive, that the unjust would not be given a free pass. So, they work in many ways. By keeping this sense of dignity alive in us. By forcing or nudging people to understand the injustice they stand against and it can change their mind. As Zeynep Tufekci tells us, “Protests work because protesters can demonstrate the importance of a belief to society at large and let authorities understand that their actions will be opposed, especially if those protesters are willing to take serious risks for their cause. Protests work because they are often the gateway drug between casual participation and lifelong activism. And, sometimes, protests work because, for that moment, the question in the minds of the protesters is not whether they work short-term or long-term, but whether one can sit by idly for one more day while a grave injustice unfolds. And perhaps that’s the most powerful means by which protest works: when the cause is so powerful that the protesters don’t calculate whether it works or not, but feel morally compelled to show up and be counted.”