Saturday, January 21, 2017
Participants of a rally regarding women's rights hold placards as they march in Wellington, New Zealand, January 21, 2017 the day after Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States./ REUTERS
Thousands of protesters in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday joined the first of hundreds of womens' marches organized around the world in a show of disapproval of U.S. President Donald Trump as he began his first day in office.
In Sydney, Australia's biggest city, about 3,000 people - men and women gathered for a rally in Hyde Park before marching on the U.S. consulate downtown.
"Feminism is my Trump card" and "Fight like a girl," were among the placards held aloft by the protesters.
"We’re not marching as an anti-Trump movement per se, we’re marching to protest the hate speech, the hateful rhetoric, the misogyny, the bigotry, the xenophobia and we want to present a united voice with women around the globe," organizer Mindy Freiband told Reuters.
Earlier about 2,000 people marched peacefully in four cities in New Zealand, Wellington's march organizer Bette Flagler told Reuters by phone.
Some 673 "sister marches" are planned worldwide for Saturday, in addition to a protest in Washington D.C., according to the organizer's' website which says more than two million marchers are expected.