Protesters walk during the Women’s March on Washington, with the U.S. Capitol in the background, on Jan. 21, in Washington, D.C. Large crowds attended the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Thousands of women from across the U.S., many wearing bright pink hats, poured in the nation’s capital to protest against Donald Trump’s allegedly anti-women views, just a day after the billionaire Republican was sworn in as 45th U.S. President, writes Lalit K. Jha. – @Siliconeer #Siliconeer #womensmarch #PresidentDonaldTrump

With banners and posters like “women rights are human rights,” hundreds and thousands of women protesters poured in downtown Washington, and were joined by several lawmakers including Indian American Ami Bera.

The Washington march, expected to attract around one million people, was just one of a series of marches planned across major world capitals like London, Sydney and Tokyo, to raise awareness on women’s and civil rights, seemingly under threat in Trump presidency.

“Congratulations to the women marching today. We must go forward to ensure full reproductive justice for all women.

#WomensMarch,” Senator Bernie Sanders said in a tweet, asking his supporters to join the first protest against Trump.

Said to be the largest ever protest against Trump, law enforcement officials were on their toes and the city was on a high alert to maintain law and order in the city.

Protesters, many of them supporting bright pink knit hats, poured in the city since early morning in buses, trains, and cars, and swamped the streets of downtown Washington in a sea of pink.

Long-queues were witnessed in the city’s Metro subway system, which was visibly under stress due to the load of so many people.

Over 200 protesters were arrested by Washington police after clashes broke out between masked protesters and law enforcement agencies at many places in the capital during Trump’s inauguration ceremony, Jan. 20.

The Women’s March on Washington aims to send a message to all levels of government, including but not limited to the new administration, that “we stand together in solidarity and we expect elected leaders” to act to protect the rights of women, their families and their communities, the organizers said.

“We march today for the moral core of this nation, against which our new President is waging a war,” actress America Ferrera said addressing the huge crowd.

“Our dignity, our character, our rights have all been under attack and a platform of hate and division assumed power yesterday. But the President is not America. … We are America and we are here to stay,” Ferrera said.

Some of the posters being displayed included “Women won’t back down” and “Less fear more love.”

Similar marches are being held in 600 sister cities across the country and the world.

Why Didn’t These People Vote: Trump on Protesters

President Donald Trump took a swipe at the millions of protesters who demonstrated across the country against his alleged divisive and anti-women policies, saying “why didn’t these people vote,” even as he asserted that he recognizes people’s right to express views.

“Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don’t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views,” Trump said in a tweet.

His tweet came a day after several million people in cities and towns across the country came out on streets against his alleged divisive and anti-women policies.

In another tweet, Trump said he watched these protests.

“Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn’t these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly,” he said.

In a series of tweets, Trump also mentioned his visit to the CIA headquarters, Jan. 21.

“Had a great meeting at CIA Headquarters yesterday, packed house, paid great respect to Wall, long standing ovations, amazing people. WIN!,” said Trump.

Trump asserted that his inauguration was the most watched swearing in ceremony, this challenging the contrary claims being made by some major American media outlets.

“Wow, television ratings just out: 31 million people watched the Inauguration, 11 million more than the very good ratings from 4 years ago!” Trump said in another tweet.

More than 21 million people follow him on twitter.

All these tweets made today were from his personal twitter handle.

His presidential twitter handle has made just seven tweets and has 14.2 million followers.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer denied reports that the White House has issued any statement on the women’s march.

“The White House has not issued a statement,” Spicer said in a tweet with a link to the alleged White House statement on Women’s March that has been doing the rounds on the social media.