Thousands of women are marching in cities around world to call for the protection of civil liberties and diverse cultures which organizers say have been threatened by the recent US presidential election.
The day of action centers around the Women’s March which has been organised near US Capitol buildings, Washington, on Donald Trump’s first full day in the White House.
So far, sister rallies have taken place in Japan, Australia while demonstrations are also happening in European cities like London, Paris, Barcelona, Dublin and Milan.
22 January 2017
San Francisco City Hall illuminated in pink to show support for ‘Women March’ participants.
Between 75,000 - 150,000 people attended the Denver demonstration, according to organizers, with some marchers claiming the numbers exceeded 200,000.
Organizers for the Women's March on Portland say 100,000 people took to the streets Saturday.
An estimated 2.6 million people took part in 673 marches - in all 50 US states as well as 32 countries across the globe, KTVB report citing organizers.
The largest rally took place in Washington DC, with well over 500,000 protesters.
In Chicago, the crowds swelled to 150,000. In New York City, the number stood at 200,000, while Boston had more than 100,000 people on its streets.
"Penguins for Peace" march was even held by the women who are stationed at US research center in Antarctica.
More than half a million people attended the anti-Trump march in LA, according to police estimates. The city’s Mayor, Eric Garcetti, thanked participants for a “show of unity, peace & strength.”
21 January 2017
Thousands of protesters surround Trump Tower in NYC.
Around 10,000 people attended the march in Vancouver, according to the city’s police estimates.
Between 135,000-150,000 people attended the march in Boston, according to estimates from the city Mayor’s office, while organizers expected around 80,000. Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh said protesters can “always count on him as an ally.”
The large crowds at the Women's March in Chicago forced organizers to cancel their initial plans to march downtown. Instead, they opted to extend the ongoing rally in Grant Park along Lake Michigan, by using overflow areas, as reported by AP.
The massive turnout at the Women's March in Washington, DC, prevented organizers from leading the main and formal march toward the White House, as the entire planned route was filled with hundreds of thousands of ‘sister’ protesters, AP reports, citing an unnamed DC official. The official said more than half a million people could have been protesting on the streets of Washington, DC.
More than 2,000 people took to snow-covered streets during the Sundance Film Festival in solidarity with Women's March demonstrations around the United States, organized to show opposition to US President Donald Trump's agenda.
A sea of bright pink knitted hats, a symbol of the movement, stood out on the streets of Park City, Utah, as talk show host Chelsea Handler led the Women's March there. Protesters chanted "Not My President," "Love Trumps Hate" and "Fight Like a Girl." (Reuters)
A “sister march” in Downtown LA is becoming increasingly crowded with thousands of participants.
London, Paris, Berlin, Prague, Tbilisi, Chicago, Boston: just some of the cities that took part in today’s #WomensMarch event.
“You better keep your hands off of Planned Parenthood,” warned congresswoman Maxine Waters in her speech to the crowd at the #WomansMarch rally at Washington’s National Mall.
“You want to talk about women's issues? Let's talk about the economy,” said California Senator Kamala Harris to the crowd in Washington.
READ MORE: 'Pink pussy hat' march in Washington for women’s rights after Trump inauguration (PHOTOS)
Women’s march organize now calculate the turnout at Washington DC’s event to be an estimated 500,000.
As the east coast festivites begin to die down, the marches are just kicking off in California.
Huge crowds have turned up in Denver, Colorado.
There were more passengers (270,000) on the Metro system on Saturday at 11am, than at the same time on Friday (193,000) for President Trump’s inauguration, says the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
The march portion of Chicago #Women’sMarch is cancelled due to safety concerns after 150,000 people squeezed into Grant Park for a morning rally that was scheduled to preempt the march to Federal Plaza.
"Our march route is flooded. There is no safe way to march. We are just going to sing and dance and make our voices heard here," said rally and march co-chairwoman Ann Scholhmer told the crowd just before 11 a.m.
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden called out the New York Times and Washington Post for not giving the national marches news priority.
Snowden also wondered what many on Twitter have speculated about throughout the day: is there more people in attendance at the National Mall today than at Trump’s inauguration yesterday?
Speaking to the crowd at the women’s march in Boston, senator Elizabeth Forma said: "We can whimper, we can whine, or we can fight back. I am here to fight back."
Those in Park City, Utah, for the annual Sundance Film Festival organized their own women's march down main street.
More celebrities are taking to the National Mall stage, the latest is actress Ashley Judd: "We're not here to be respected. We're here to be nasty."
"Why are pads and tampons still taxed, when Viagra and Rogaine is not?" said Judd in her fiery speech.
Tens of thousands have packed into Chicago’s Grant Park.
Washington isn't the only US city hosting a #WomensMarch...
Chicago
Boston
As always with politics, not everyone agrees with the movement’s anti-Trump message. Some critics have taken to Twitter to lambaste the crowd’s supposed preference for Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, and lack of concern for countries with legal systems that infringe even more on women’s rights.
Hillary Clinton praised those in attendance for “marching for our values.”
A city official says the turnout on the National Mall now stands at over 500,000 people, Washington’s Top News reports.
Block party on Capitol Hill supporting the Women's March on Washington.
Member of the Labour party, Yvette Cooper, says over 100,000 people marched across London’s Trafalgar square during their #WomensMarch.
"The president is not America. His cabinet is not America. Congress is not America. We are America,” actress America Ferrera gave a speech to the attending crowd.
Singer Cher, actress Gillian Anderson and filmmaker Michael Moore are all in attendance at the DC march along with many other “Hollywood” faces.
The crowds in Washington are swelling, the majority wearing their pink “pussy hats.”
Live feed of the London #WomensMarch courtesy of RT UK:
Police estimates place the number of attendees of the London march at 20,000. Marchers on the ground place the number significantly higher.
New York women have joined the DC movement, making their way to the capital in over 1,000 buses.
The march in Washington will take demonstrators on a two-mile trek from Independence Avenue towards the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. The route has been lined with warming buses, first aid huts and even lactation tents.
On Saturday morning Asian pacific time, more than 100 people marched in both Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand, in solidarity with US movement in defence of women’s rights.
A video entitled ‘Why I March’ has been released by rally organisers in the US.
Thousands of women are marching through Paris on the first full day of Trump’s administration, carrying placards and chanting slogans in aid of women’s rights and gender equality.
A time lapse video shows how many busloads of marchers have already arrived at the capital ahead of today’s march.
The #WomensMarch in Washington DC is expected to draw a crowd of almost a quarter of a million people, according to their official Facebook event page. The initial rally will begin at 10 am local time, ending at approximately 13:15 pm when the march itself kicks off.
The crowds are already out in their droves, swarming metros and public transport to make their way to the capitol.
Thousands of women have taken to the streets in London to march against the new US president Donald Trump in addition to a multitude of other related causes such as minority rights and civil liberties.
There are several sister marches currently taking place throughout Europe ahead of the major protest expected in Washington DC today, following the inauguration of Donald Trump yesterday.
According to the official Women’s March website, there will be 673 marches in total with an estimated 2,226,540 participants expected to attend worldwide.
Barcelona
Copenhagen
Dublin
READ MORE: Women's March on Washington poised to greet Trump's first full day in office
Major protests are taking place worldwide for the #WomensMarch with marches currently happening in major European capital cities and more expected in the US capital and across the United States later today.