Good morning. With today's women's marches on Washington and elsewhere getting under way, we'll start the live blog with this curtain-raiser from RFE/RL's news desk:
Women Marchers Plan To Send Signal To President Trump
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.
WATCH: Rally For Women's Rights, Protest Against Trump In Brussels
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."
Katy Perry, Amy Schumer, Scarlett Johansson, Cher, Julianne Moore, and Frances McDormand are among the A-listers expected to turn out for the Women's March on Washington. Here's a rundown of some of the big names and what they will be doing.
There has reportedly been a run on pink yarn in the United States as Women's March participants scrambled to knit, crochet, and sew pink hats with cat ears to wear during rallies around the globe.
It's all part of the Pussyhat Project, which aims to have 1.7 million pussyhats on display in a show of opposition to derogatory comments, referencing female genitalia, made by Donald Trump in a video that surfaced during his campaign.
To get you in the mood ...
So marches have already been taking place in Australia and News Zealand, as reported by RFE/RL's news desk:
Australia, New Zealand Kick Off Anti-Trump Women’s Marches
Thousands of people from Australia and New Zealand took to the streets on January 21, kicking off the global Women’s March on Washington movement in protest against newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump.
Several thousand women and men joined the movement in central Sydney and a similar crowd turned out in Melbourne.
"Hatred, hate speech, bigotry, discrimination, prejudicial policies -- these are not American problems, these are global problems," Women's March Sydney co-founder Mindy Freiband told the crowd.
Hundreds of people also demonstrated in New Zealand's biggest cities, Wellington and Auckland.
The marches in Australia and New Zealand are the first of more than 600 rallies planned for cities across the world.
Read more here
To march or not to march. Rift over abortion is keeping some women away, according to The Los Angeles Times.
"A self-described Christian liberal from Dover, Pa., she was horrified by President Trump’s rhetoric toward women and minorities during the campaign. This was their chance, she thought, to stand with other women in support of a more inclusive and equal world.
"Then she read that the organizers had refused to partner with a group of antiabortion feminists..."
Why We March#
A condensed version of the Guiding Vision And Principles of the Women's March on Washington:
The Women's March on Washington is a women-led movement bringing together people of all genders, ages, races, cultures, political affiliations and backgrounds ... to affirm our shared humanity and pronounce our bold message of resistance and self-determination.
● We believe that Women’s Rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are Women’s Rights.
● We believe Gender Justice is Racial Justice is Economic Justice. We must create a society in which all women—including Black women, Native women, poor women, immigrant women, Muslim women, lesbian, queer and trans women—are free and able to care for and nurture their families, however they are formed, in safe and healthy environments free from structural impediments.
● Women deserve to live full and healthy lives, free of violence against our bodies.
● We believe in accountability and justice for police brutality and ending racial profiling and targeting of communities of color.
● We believe it is our moral imperative to dismantle the gender and racial inequities within the criminal justice system.
● We believe in Reproductive Freedom. We do not accept any federal, state or local rollbacks, cuts or restrictions on our ability to access quality reproductive healthcare services, birth control, HIV/AIDS care and prevention, or medically accurate sexuality education. This means open access to safe, legal, affordable abortion and birth control for all people, regardless of income, location or education.
● We believe in Gender Justice. We must have the power to control our bodies and be free from gender norms, expectations and stereotypes. We must free ourselves and our society from the institution of awarding power, agency and resources disproportionately to masculinity to the exclusion of others.
● We firmly declare that LGBTQIA Rights are Human Rights and that it is our obligation to uplift, expand and protect the rights of our gay, lesbian, bi, queer, trans or gender non-conforming brothers, sisters and siblings.
● We believe in an economy powered by transparency, accountability, security and equity. We believe that creating workforce opportunities that reduce discrimination against women and mothers allow economies to thrive.
● We believe in equal pay for equal work and the right of all women to be paid equitably.
● We recognize that women of color carry the heaviest burden in the global and domestic economic landscape, particularly in the care economy.
● We believe that all workers – including domestic and farm workers - must have the right to organize and fight for a living minimum wage, and that unions and other labor associations are critical to a healthy and thriving economy for all.
● We believe Civil Rights are our birthright. Our Constitutional government establishes a framework to provide and expand rights and freedoms–not restrict them. To this end, we must protect and restore all the Constitutionally-mandated rights to all our citizens, including voting rights, freedom to worship without fear of intimidation or harassment, freedom of speech, and protections for all citizens regardless of race, gender, age or disability.
● We believe that all women’s issues are issues faced by women with disabilities and Deaf women.
● We believe it is time for an all-inclusive Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Most Americans believe the Constitution guarantees equal rights, but it does not.
● Rooted in the promise of America’s call for huddled masses yearning to breathe free, we believe in immigrant and refugee rights regardless of status or country of origin.
● We believe that every person and every community in our nation has the right to clean water, clean air, and access to and enjoyment of public lands.
There's also a women's march happening just down the road from here, on Prague's main thoroughfare Wenceslas Square:
And here are some tweets from the scene of other women's marches around the world: