Updated
Photo:
An estimated 500,000 people turned out in Washington DC for the Women's March. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
Millions of people from all over the world have marched in opposition to the agenda and rhetoric of President Donald Trump.
People
from all over the United States packed into the country's capital for
the Women's March on Washington, with hundreds of other marches
happening in other countries throughout the world.A city official in Washington said the turnout estimate was at 500,000 people, more than double the initial predictions.
The mission statement of the Women's March on Washington says event participants are "hurting and scared" as Mr Trump takes office, and they want a greater voice for women in political life.
Women's marches also took place in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday (local time), with an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people marching through the streets of Sydney alone.
The Women's March on Washington, featuring speakers, celebrity appearances and a protest walk along the National Mall, was planned as a counter-argument to Mr Trump's populist presidential campaign, in which he angered many on the left with comments seen as demeaning to women, Mexicans and Muslims.
The Washington march comes one day after Mr Trump's inauguration, which saw the US capital rocked by violent protests against the new President.
Black-clad anti-establishment activists smashed windows, set vehicles on fire and fought with riot-gear-clad police who responded with stun grenades.
The protests illustrated the depth of the anger in a deeply divided country that is still recovering from the scarring 2016 campaign season.
Women marching in protest in dozens of countries
The women marching in Washington DC were joined by thousands more around the world.Similar rallies were held in London, Berlin, Rome and hundreds of other cities in Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East, with organisers estimating a turnout of more than 3 million people.
In Park City, Utah, it was Charlize Theron leading demonstrators in a chant of "Love, not hate, makes America great".
In New York, actresses Helen Mirren and Cynthia Nixon and Whoopi Goldberg joined a crowd of protesters marching to Mr Trump's local home.
In Paris, thousands rallied in the Eiffel Tower neighbourhood in a joyful atmosphere, singing and carrying posters reading "We have our eyes on you Mr Trump" and "With our sisters in Washington".
Hundreds gathered in Prague's Wenceslas Square in freezing weather, mockingly waving portraits of Mr Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
"We are worried about the way some politicians talk, especially during the American elections," said organiser Johanna Nejedlova.
In Sydney, thousands of Australians gathered in solidarity in Hyde Park.
One organiser said hatred, bigotry and racism were not only America's problems.
In Copenhagen, Denmark, protesters in the march's trademark pink woollen hats met outside the US Embassy.
March participant Sherin Khankan said "an alternative to the growing hatred must be created".
At a rally in Stockholm, Sweden, organiser Lotta Kuylenstjerna said "we do not have to accept his message", in a reference to Mr Trump.
Photo:
Demonstrators were set to take part in cities across the world, including London. (AP: Tim Ireland)
Marchers hope to protest, as well as inspire other women
The organisers of the Women's March on Washington said they had extensive security plans in place, and would have both visible and hard-to-spot security workers along the route.
Photo:
A woman holds a red rose during the Women's March in Washington DC. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)
The event, the brainchild of Hawaiian grandmother Teresa Shook, was intended as an outlet for women and men who consider themselves feminists to vent their frustration and anxiety over Mr Trump's victory.
Why I'm rallying against Trump
This Saturday, on January 21, I'll be marking Donald Trump's first day in office by marching against the hatred he represents, writes Lucia Osborne-Crowley.
It spotlights the fierce opposition Mr Trump faces as he takes office, a period that is typically more of a honeymoon than a hatefest.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found Mr Trump had the lowest favourability rating of any incoming president since the 1970s.
Women reached by Reuters gave a host of reasons for marching, ranging from inspiring other women to run for office to protesting against Mr Trump's plans to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which among other things requires health insurers to cover birth control.
Overall, the women said they hoped to send a unity message to Mr Trump after a campaign in which he said Mexican immigrants were "rapists", discussed banning Muslims from entering the United States, and was revealed to have once bragged about grabbing women by the genitals and kissing them without permission.
One march participant, Carli Baklashev, a stay-at-home mother of five boys from Missouri, said: "I want to resist the ideology of everything that he stands for and teach my children that love, empathy and inclusion and diversity are a staple of who we are."
Mr Trump's team did not respond to a request for comment about the march.
Reuters/AP
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