Women's March, London, Sat 21, 2016. Credit: Che Ramsden
In London as across the world, a Women’s March was organised in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington. Taking place the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President, the marches are an expression of outrage at the unabashed misogyny and hatred that Trump has espoused and risen from. It is estimated that 100,000 people took part in London; double what the organisers were expecting. By the time I arrived at Trafalgar Square, some two and a half hours after we had shuffled past the US Embassy on Grosvenor Square, the rally had already started and the last marchers had only just set off.
You could tell from the atmosphere that it was many people’s first protest. On the underground, younger women eyed each other nervously as though daring themselves to break ‘tube protocol’ and strike up conversation with strangers. When it was announced that Bond Street Station was closed, a more stalwart protester started singing ‘woman power!’ all the way up the escalator; no one joined in but everyone smiled and a group further down cheered. Pockets of the march were mostly silent, although people were chatting individually and as groups, apart from the occasional collective ‘whoop!’ spreading through the crowd.
