Protesters across globe rally for women's rights
more than
one million people marched through Washington, D.C., and other American
cities Saturday to show support for women's rights and express their
discontent over the election of President Donald Trump.
The
Women's March drew members of Congress, world-famous actresses and
countless citizens like Joanne Gascoyne of Albany, New York a
78-year-old retired teacher who traveled to New York City with her
daughter and two granddaughters.
"I
feel people are afraid to vote for a woman for president," Gascoyne
said. "I'm really here for women and to inspire my granddaughters to
carry on."
The
protesters came out for a range of reasons, including immigration,
health care and a general antipathy to Trump. But most said they wanted
to show support for women and feared that there will be attacks on
women's rights during Trump's presidency.
CNN did not make its own crowd estimates, but compiled official estimates from law enforcement agencies
for many of the "sister marches" around the country that drew large
crowds. The million-person count doesn't include the thousands of people
who took part in the Women's March on Washington for which there was no
official crowd estimate.
Marches were also held in cities around the world.
The
biggest demonstration took place in Washington, where protesters filled
Pennsylvania Avenue, the same street Trump walked down a day before
during his inaugural parade. In the evening, the crowd moved toward the
White House.
On the mall, filmmaker
Michael Moore, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, musician Alicia Keys and
other speakers emotionally attacked Trump for his views on immigration,
Muslims and women.
"It
took this horrific moment of darkness to wake us the f--k up," Madonna
told the crowd. "It seems as though we had all slipped into a false
sense of comfort, that justice would prevail and that good would win in
the end."
Historian Douglas Brinkley told CNN that people will always remember the inauguration and the march as momentous events.
"It's
big. It's a huge moment," Brinkley said. "It also reminded me, believe
it or not, of V-J Day, Victory Over Japan Day, 1945. Because when
victory came people started coming out of apartments and homes ... a lot
of extra people in these towns just started coming out."
Marches across America
March organizers said protests took place in more than 600 cities across the world.
Attendance
was not always easy to determine. For instance, Washington march
organizers said about 500,000 people took part, but authorities did not
confirm that number or provide their own estimate.
Elizabeth Warren: We're here to fight back 02:46
In
Boston, 120,000 to 125,000 people protested, according to a police
aerial photo analysis cited by a senior Boston Police official. Police
said the crowd there was too big for the march route and could not
proceed because "it would be like a snake eating its tail."
U.S.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged Boston protesters to resist: "We can
whimper. We can whine. Or we can fight back! We come here to stand
shoulder to shoulder to make clear: We are here! We will not be silent!
We will not play dead! We will fight for what we believe in!"
In
Los Angeles, more than 100,000 people marched, police said. So many
people crammed into the streets that "our march turned into a stand,"
said Ellen Crafts, who handled public relations for the event.
"Sister marches" happened outside the United States, too.
People
gathered to demonstrate in most major cities around the world,
including London; Tel Aviv; Melbourne, Australia; Pristina, Kosovo;
Moscow; Berlin and Mexico City -- often in front of US embassies.
In Athens, Greece, protesters included refugees from Elliniko Camp, located in the old Athens airport.
There was even a protest in Antarctica
-- about 30 eco-minded tourists and non-government scientists aboard a
ship in international waters hoisted signs saying "Penguins for peace"
and "Seals for science," organizers said.
Bigger than inaugural?
The march organizers believe more people came out Saturday for the protests than for Trump's inaugural events on Friday.
Washington
protest organizers, who originally sought a permit for a gathering of
200,000, said Saturday that as many as a half million people
participated, dwarfing Friday's inaugural crowd.
More
than 470,000 people had taken the Metro, the Washington subway system,
by 1 p.m., a weekend ridership record. The metro tweeted Saturday there
were 275,000 trips taken Saturday by 11 a.m.
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