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Everything you need to know about the women's march in America

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I woke up with a pounding head-ache on Saturday, after working the late shift in Washington DC on Inauguration Day.

It was a hangover, but not from booze.

No, it was a dehydration headache. Drinking water is a liability when you're a reporter in the field and, in this case, wearing a ball-gown.

Relieving oneself often involves long walks and unseemly bathrooms, both of which are to be avoided at all cost. The fact that more than 24 hours had passed since my last cup of coffee probably didn't help.

I thought I should try to catch an earlier train home to see my kids and relieve my sitter.

"Thou shalt not mess with women's reproductive rights," read one sign citing a verse from "Fallopians" as if a sexual organ were a book of the Bible."

Outside my hotel window was gray and wet but the street was awash in pink knit hats and people, mostly women but not only, some carrying signs others wearing sashes.

Read more: The most eye-catching posters from the Women's Marches against Trump

My hotel was just blocks away from the state capitol where people were already starting to gather for the Women's March.

As I pulled on my jeans and packed up my things I could hear the buzz of people below. I knew official estimates for the crowd were huge. I felt I couldn't leave the city without taking a look. I left my bags with the bellman, telling him I'd be back in 20 minutes.

It ended up being an hour or two. I went out in the street to take pictures of the signs and saw a huge crowd a block away moving toward the capital.

"Thou shalt not mess with women's reproductive rights," read one sign citing a verse from "Fallopians" as if a sexual organ were a book of the Bible. A few photos gave way to some videos, as I tried to capture the giddy mood and sheer volume of people I was seeing.

Staggering numbers 

The numbers seemed staggering. As I walked up Jersey Avenue and right toward the capitol's big white dome, I asked people where they were from.

"Colorado," said the first group of white middle-aged women I chatted with. At the corner I ran into a younger crowd from Maryland and Boston and mothers with daughters from Chicago, Virginia, California, Minnesota. There were men and children too.

Their signs touched on marchers' many concerns under a Donald Trump presidency, from immigrant rights to disability rights. The focus of organisers and majority of signs, however, were women's reproductive rights.

"Repealing Obamacare will likely mean no more free access to birth control for women."

The crowd was mostly white, but diverse. Minority women took centre stage at the podium but there were also, men like filmmaker Michael Moore, and white feminist icons like Gloria Steinem and the pop-singer Madonna (Cher tried to come but got stuck in traffic).

I've reported on a fair number of demonstrations in my day, from Ferguson to the streets of New York, but I could tell this was big. Even by DC standards.

As I finally made my way towards coffee and the train station, I was feeling better. I spent the three-hour train ride back to New York monitoring news sources and social media.

Protestors were forming huge crowds in Chicago and San Francisco as well. London was having a march too! Every state of the union, every continent of the world was taking part.

Now we know from experts more than a half million people attended the DC march, worldwide its estimated more than three million took part.

Read more: Are we our own oppressors?

'You lost' 

I saw Trump supporters on social media dismiss the action as sour grapes: you lost, get over it, they posted.

Some focused on the violent confrontations between police and protestors the day before that resulted in a couple hundred arrests. One Facebook friend saw my photos of the march and asked how women’s rights were being threatened by Trump.

Here are a few facts: one of the first things President Trump has promised to do is appoint a conservative judge to the Supreme Court.

"The question many were asking was telling: "How do we continue this movement?""

While most experts don't believe the court is likely to overturn Roe versus Wade, the decision legalising abortion, in the near future, a right leaning court is likely to allow states to enact more restrictions making access to abortion more difficult.

Repealing Obamacare will likely mean no more free access to birth control for women.

Republicans have also promised to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, which they despise because it provides abortion services, primarily to low-income women, in addition to reproductive health care, like contraception and screenings for sexually treated diseases as well as cancer.

Interestingly, some anti-abortion groups wanted to march as well, but complained about being left out by organisers.

I was still glued to social media after I jumped in a cab back home in New York. But as we made our way slowly through midtown traffic, the distant sound of beating drums caused me to look up.

A march was happening here too. Many neighbours and mothers from my children's school were posting photos of themselves there, people I had never seen taking part in demonstrations.

The question many were asking was telling: "How do we continue this movement?"

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