Trump's first full day in office belonged to the women who oppose him. The Women's March on Washington and its hundreds of sister events drew millions of participants across the globe.
Image: Annette von der Markt
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Millions march for women's rights worldwide
With hundreds of sister events across the globe, the Women's March on Washington left its mark. The demonstrations were partly sparked in opposition to the attitude of US President Donald Trump to women and minorities.
Initial estimates suggest that at least 500,000 participants took to the streets in Washington, DC. March organizers said that the point of the protest was not only to show opposition to newly sworn-in President Trump, but as a general call for the rights of women and other minorities to be respected.
Image: DW / F. Kroker
Solidarity
Brazilian protesters joined hands in the capital Brasilia. More than 600 solidarity events were held around the world, on every continent including Antarctica, where a group of scientists held their own small demonstration on a research vessel.
Image: Reuters/A. Machado
'Pussy hats'
A family at a march in Frankfurt wore the "pussy hats" that many march participants around the world had for the occassion. The hats were meant as a slight to misogynistic comments President Trump made in 2005 that surfaced during the election campaign.
Image: DW/M. Bierbach
'Build kindness, not walls'
Many slogans at the protests had to do with President Trump's promise to build a wall on the border between the US and Mexico. At a protest in Kenyan capital of Nairobi, supporters demanded equality and tolerance.
Image: Reuters/T. Mukoya
Parisians against patriarchy
At least 2,000 people took part in the Paris march. Many demonstrators across Europe said they were not only protesting Trump, but the rise of the far-right across the continent as French elections loom in March.
Image: Reuters/J. Naegelen
Higher turnout than inauguration
Much has been made of the low turnout numbers at President Trump's inauguration. People took to social media to show empty subway trains in Washington on inauguration day, but transport officials in the US capital said Saturday was the fifth busiest day in the Metro's history.
Image: DW/D. Raish
Biggest protest in US history
Midtown Manhattan flooded with protestors by Saturday afternoon. With large demonstrations taking place in most major US cities, some academics were already predicting that it would be the largest protest in the country's history.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
Mexicans on the move
Activists in Mexico City marched towards the US embassy. One of the first of Donald Trump's many campaign statements that sparked controversy was the allegations that most Mexican immigrants to the US were criminals.
Turnout at President Trump's inauguration may have been poor, but the same could not be said for the Women's March on Washington and its hundreds of connected events across the world on Saturday. Millions of people, mostly women, took to the streets on every continent - including Antarctica – to vdemand recognition of their rights, and, at least in part, to protest Trump's hostility to women and minorities.
Film producer and screenwriter Kerry Fleming managed to get some aerial footage of the march to show just how large the crowd was:
"Welcome to your first day, we will never go away," chanted some of the hundreds of thousands of protestors in Washington as night fell. Wearing knit pink "pussy hats" in reference to misogynistic comments once made by President Trump, the lead event drew some 500,000 participants in the US capital alone.
Trump mum on protests
President Trump has not commented on the protests, though he had to drive past some of the demonstrators on his first official visit to CIA headquarters in northern Virginia. Despite previously comparing the intelligence agency to "Nazi Germany," he told officials there on Saturday that he was behind them "one thousand percent." He then went on to blast the media for reporting on the low turnout at his inauguration festivities.
Although no one from the Trump administration commented on the global outpouring, Michael Flynn Jr., the son of the president's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, mockingly suggested on Twitter that the women were marching because they wanted free manicures. He claimed that women "already have equal rights," and inaccurately stated that they have equal pay as well.
Germans march in solidarity
With sister marches planned as far afield as Cape Town, Tokyo, and Tel Aviv, to name just a few, at least six solidarity events played out across Germany – in Bonn, Heidelberg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich. German politicians either offered muted reactions or heavy criticism for President Trump during his inauguration, and Germans came out in droves to show their support for Americans demanding consideration from their leaders.
Thousands came out in Frankfurt alone, where DW's Mara Bierbach reported that women were protesting for a myriad of reasons - partly due to Trump's approach to women and minorities - but also against how these groups are oppressed by power structures across the world.
The solidarity march in Frankfurt was just one of the events across Europe to demand equal rights for women and minoritiesImage: DW/M. Bierbach
One participant at the Frankfurt march told Bierbach that people across the world needed to be vigilant towards right-wing populism in general. This is not an unfounded fear, as National Front leader Marine Le Pen is polling strongly in the upcoming French presidential elections. Germany's nationalistic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is also looking set to enter parliament for the first time in September.
As darkness settled over Washington, protesters refused to be deterred and continued their demonstration. According to local police, despite the massive numbers of people, the day had been a completely peaceful one. Compared to the 200 arrests made on Friday after scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police during the inauguration, Saturday's event was peaceful, with no arrests made.
Millions march for women's rights worldwide
With hundreds of sister events across the globe, the Women's March on Washington left its mark. The demonstrations were partly sparked in opposition to the attitude of US President Donald Trump to women and minorities.
Initial estimates suggest that at least 500,000 participants took to the streets in Washington, DC. March organizers said that the point of the protest was not only to show opposition to newly sworn-in President Trump, but as a general call for the rights of women and other minorities to be respected.
Image: DW / F. Kroker
Solidarity
Brazilian protesters joined hands in the capital Brasilia. More than 600 solidarity events were held around the world, on every continent including Antarctica, where a group of scientists held their own small demonstration on a research vessel.
Image: Reuters/A. Machado
'Pussy hats'
A family at a march in Frankfurt wore the "pussy hats" that many march participants around the world had for the occassion. The hats were meant as a slight to misogynistic comments President Trump made in 2005 that surfaced during the election campaign.
Image: DW/M. Bierbach
'Build kindness, not walls'
Many slogans at the protests had to do with President Trump's promise to build a wall on the border between the US and Mexico. At a protest in Kenyan capital of Nairobi, supporters demanded equality and tolerance.
Image: Reuters/T. Mukoya
Parisians against patriarchy
At least 2,000 people took part in the Paris march. Many demonstrators across Europe said they were not only protesting Trump, but the rise of the far-right across the continent as French elections loom in March.
Image: Reuters/J. Naegelen
Higher turnout than inauguration
Much has been made of the low turnout numbers at President Trump's inauguration. People took to social media to show empty subway trains in Washington on inauguration day, but transport officials in the US capital said Saturday was the fifth busiest day in the Metro's history.
Image: DW/D. Raish
Biggest protest in US history
Midtown Manhattan flooded with protestors by Saturday afternoon. With large demonstrations taking place in most major US cities, some academics were already predicting that it would be the largest protest in the country's history.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
Mexicans on the move
Activists in Mexico City marched towards the US embassy. One of the first of Donald Trump's many campaign statements that sparked controversy was the allegations that most Mexican immigrants to the US were criminals.
