Edinburgh protest held in solidarity with women’s marches worldwide

An estimated 2000 people descended on the US Consulate in Edinburgh on Saturday in peaceful protest following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
The crowd expressed outrage at  misogynistic and xenophobic statements from then-candidate Trump which advocated rape, discrimination and attacked existing reproductive rights.
Many demonstrators were clad in pink ‘pussyhats’, with signs bearing slogans like “Girls just wanna have FUNdamental human rights”, “Not this pussy” and “A woman’s place is in the resistance”.  Stopping traffic on Calton Hill, attendance far exceeded the expectations of organisers Leah Higgins and Calum Stewart, 16-year-old school friends from Strathaven who organised the event.
Representatives from the Green Party, Labour Party, and the Women’s Equality Party were among the speakers present, alongside long-time activists, mothers and educators.
The protest represented a show of solidarity with demonstrators worldwide, including an estimated 2.9 million in the US,  who see Trump as a threat to equality and tolerance. It was one of several protests in the UK, including sister marches in London, Leeds,  Belfast and Manchester.