On the weekend of October 17–18, 2009, anti-war protests took place in 50 cities across the United States. In Boston, hundreds of protesters gathered at Copley Square to protest the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Zoya, a 28-year-old Afghan woman spoke against the U.S.-led war in her country, saying her homeland does not need more foreign occupation. Suzette Abbot, carrying a sign that read "Yes We Can Get Out of Afghanistan", said "Obama needs to make good on his promises. We all worked to get him elected. Now he needs to earn that peace prize."