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Women Marchers Plan To Send Signal To President Trump

RFE/RL January 20, 2017

Women from around the United States are converging on Washington D.C. to join a mass protest march on January 21 -- the first full day in office for newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump.

During the U.S. election campaign, Trump was often criticized for his attitude and public statements toward women.

Now, many women and men plan to express in the streets of the U.S. capital how they feel about Trump by joining what is being billed as the "Women's March" main event.

Other so-called "solidarity" marches are scheduled in cities across the United States and around the world.

One women's march was already held in Brussels on January 20 with around 1,000 people gathering in the Belgian capital for a "Lights for Rights!" rally. The crowd, mostly women, denounced sexism and protested against President Trump.

Organizers behind the march in the U.S. capital say they want their voices to be heard by Trump's administration on its first day.

"The Women's March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world, that women's rights are human rights," they said on the womensmarch.com website. "We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us."

March organizers added that, despite the name, all were welcome to join, not just women.

The organizers expect some 200,000 people to attend their Washington protest, which is set to being at 10 a.m. local time.

The marches come a day after an Inauguration Day that featured the usual celebrations but was also disrupted by protests and some violence in Washington.

TV footage showed police in riot gear using pepper spray and making arrests after some protesters smashed windows of downtown businesses. The AFP news agency reported that many of those protesters were masked, clad in black and carrying anarchist flags.

Other incidents were reported throughout the capital. Police made at least 95 arrests in the U.S. capital on January 20.

Organizers of the Women's March were urging those participating to protest peacefully.

"Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people," they said.

The website says that 673 marches were planned globally, with more than 2 million sympathizers expected to join.

In London, organizers called for an international day of solidarity.

"The U.S. election proved a catalyst for a grassroots movement of women to assert the positive values that the politics of fear denies," they said. "We, the organizers of the London march, call on people of all genders to march in London as part of an international day of action in solidarity."

In Moscow, organizers were also planning a solidarity march for January 21.

"Millions will gather in Washington D.C. and in hundreds of cities around the world," they said on the actionnetwork.org website. "This is a local event for those that will be unable to travel to Washington, D.C. -- instead, we will march in solidarity with the Women's March on Washington here in Moscow."

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/women-washington-protest -marchers-signal-trump/28247534.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.