‘Fearless Girl’ of Wall Street will stay for another year

March 27 (UPI) — The statue of a young girl standing firmly with her hands on her hips — in the path of Wall Street’s famous “Charging Bull” sculpture — will remain where it is for at least another year, New York politicians said Monday.

The “Fearless Girl” statue was placed at its present spot in Manhattan’s financial district to commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8 — and became a popular fixture during the equality activism demonstrated that day called, “A Day Without a Woman.”

Hundreds upon hundreds of demonstrators posed for photographs with the statue, which was sculpted by artist Kristen Visbal and placed in New York City’s Bowling Green park by the gender equality-conscious State Street Global Advisors financial firm.

The statue’s popularity led many to call for its permanent placement near the New York Stock Exchange. Officials first extended its stay through March and politicians on Monday granted it another 12 months.

Officials said it won’t be moved until February 2018.

“This miraculous girl appears and creates such a powerful sensation because she spoke to the moment,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “That sense that women were not going to live in fear, that women were going to teach their daughters and all the women in their lives to believe in themselves.”

“Where she is standing now, the ‘Fearless Girl’ is standing facing the bronze statue of the raging Wall Street ‘Charging Bull,’ which was created by Arturo Di Modica to encourage everyone to realize America’s power,” New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said Monday. “Well, the ‘Fearless Girl’ inspires all of us to realize the power we have in ourselves, the power women and girls have everywhere.”