Gena Brumitt says rallies on the weekend that drew huge crowds in Washington, London and other cities are just the beginning.

Though sleep-deprived Sunday after a 12-hour overnight bus ride back from Washington, D.C., Brumitt was brimming with optimism while speaking about the millions of people who joined women’s rights rallies across the world.

The Londoner was one of dozens of Southwestern Ontario residents who travelled to the American capital for the Women’s March on Washington, a demonstration that drew half a million people, including hundreds of Canadians.

“It’s a movement and it’s the beginning of something,” said Brumitt, an American citizen with permanent Canadian residency.

Millions attended rallies in cities across the world, including London and Stratford, on Saturday to promote equality and denounce Donald Trump, who was sworn in as American president a day earlier.

Brumitt says she’s excited to keep building on the momentum of the protests.

“People are really encouraged to get more involved in their communities, to run for office, to get out there and bring some positivity to their communities,” said Brumitt, chair of the London-area chapter of Democrats Abroad, a Democratic Party arm for Americans living outside the U.S.

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In London, organizers estimated 1,400 people flocked to Victoria Park to listen to speeches before marching through the streets.

Many in the crowd — including men and children — wore pink hats, the symbol of the movement.

Organizers said the event was meant to promote women’s rights, rather than oppose Trump, but many of the speakers took shots at the billionaire-turned-politician, while others in the crowd carried signs denouncing his controversial statements.

“Trump has demonstrated an agenda of divisiveness, hatred and misogyny, and so we need to act with new and stronger forms of collective solidarity,” Patti Dalton, the president of the London and District Labour Council, told the crowd.

Speaker Suzanne Morrison encouraged women to get involved in politics, citing the United Nations’ benchmark for women should make up at least 30 per cent of elected officials.

“Whether you look at our provincial, municipal or federal levels governments, women only make up 25 per cent of our elected officials,” said Morrison, a board member on Women in Politics, an organization dedicated to boosting female participation in politics.

“When policy and decisions are made without us at the table, they cannot be informed by the realities of womanhood.”

Two police officers who kept an eye of the gathering said no problems were reported. A lone man carrying a Trump-Pence campaign sign debated with some demonstrators. While the man was speaking to a television reporter, someone snatched his sign.

dcarruthers@postmedia.com

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