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A huge crowd turned out on the National Mall of the U.S. capital for a "Women's March On Washington" in protest at new President Donald Trump.
A huge crowd turned out on the National Mall of the U.S. capital for a "Women's March On Washington" in protest at new President Donald Trump.

Live Blog: Women's March On Washington

Follow the latest developments as women hold human rights rallies in Washington and hundreds of cities around the globe.

Final Synopsis

-- Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to streets in cities across the world on January 21 to show solidarity for a Washington D.C. protest dubbed as the "Women's March" against newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump.

-- The streets were so packed at the main march in Washington, D.C., that it had to be rerouted. One organizer told the crowd that an estimated 500,000 people had assembled for the event, although that claim was not independently confirmed.

-- The event's organizers say they wanted to send a message to "to the world that women's rights are human rights"

-- Besides promoting equal rights for women, the marchers also want to defend marginalized groups, including people of color, ethnic and religious minorities, people with disabilities, and the LGBT community.

-- The organizers said such groups had been "insulted, demonized, and threatened" in the U.S. election cycle that brought Trump to power.

* NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Washington DC (GMT/UTC -5)

18:30 21.1.2017

Karen Olson, a global coordinator of the Women's March on Washington and catalyst for the local coalition that organized the Geneva march, tells RFE/RL that police told organizers that 2,000 marchers participated in Geneva, more than the 1,000-1,200 expected.

"In Geneva, we decided to hold a women's march in order to create a platform for everyone who agrees that women's rights are human rights and that we must be vigilant to protect the human rights and civil rights of all in this climate of uncertainty created by the rise of populism around the world that is acting as a vehicle for racism, sexism, bigotry, xenophobia, nationalism, and isolationism. Our key values are equality, diversity and inclusion with a focus on the cross-cutting issue of climate which affects us all."

"We in Geneva have understood that the old formula 'Think Global, Act Local' is now updated to 'Mobilize Global, Organize Local.'"

18:36 21.1.2017

A few tweets from former Cheers star Kirstie Alley, who bucked the trend in Hollywood when she expressed support for Donald Trump in the spring.

18:40 21.1.2017

18:43 21.1.2017

Here's Sarah Palin's take on the Washington march (She's not impressed).

18:57 21.1.2017

Let's switch to New York, shall we?

19:06 21.1.2017

An American woman who planned on taking part on the Women's March in London today says Brits "mansplained" the election and transition period to her and expresses concern that she will be talked over during the march.

The Independent provides this guide on "How To Participate In Today's Women's Marches if You're A Man."

19:20 21.1.2017

Here's an RFE/RL video package on some of today's marches:

Activists In Tbilisi, Pristina, And Prague Join Global Marches

Activists in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union took part in "sister marches" joining numerous global protests against newly-inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump. (RFE/RL's Balkan and Georgian Services, and Current Time TV)

Activists In Tbilisi, Pristina, And Prague Join Global Marches
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19:32 21.1.2017

This just in:

The Associated Press news agency is reporting that the organizers of the march in Washington are being prevented from leading the planned formal procession to the White House because crowds have packed the entire route.

Meanwhile, Grammy winner Angelique Kidjoo is now keeping the crowd entertained with an upbeat version of Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come.

20:00 21.1.2017

Muhammad Ali's daughter, Maryum, has been speaking. She said she was at the march in honor of her father and "other great Muslims" as well as the "marginalized few."

She directed some of her comments at voter apathy, urging non-voters to actively participate in the political process and bemoaning how some people know everything about their favorite sports team but know nothing about local government.

Citing Barack Obama, she said "Don't boo, vote! [...] Don't get frustrated, get involved!"

Now another Grammy award winner, Norah Jones, has taken to the stage to sing "Girl On Fire"

20:23 21.1.2017

Even though AP is reporting that the streets are too packed to march, organizers are now giving protesters directions for the procession, so maybe it's still going ahead. Stay tuned for more...

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