Hundreds of thousands of women, many with husbands, boyfriends and children in tow, have filled the streets of major US cities in a wave of mass protests against President Donald Trump the day after his inauguration.
Women activists, galvanised by Trump's campaign rhetoric and behaviour they found to be especially misogynistic, spearheaded scores of US marches and sympathy rallies around the world on Saturday that organisers said drew nearly five million protesters in all.
The demonstrations highlighted strong discontent over Trump's comments and policy positions toward a wide range of groups, including Mexican immigrants, Muslims, the disabled and environmentalists.
The planned centrepiece of the protests, a Women's March on Washington, appeared to draw larger crowds than turned out a day earlier to witness Trump's swearing-in on the steps of the US Capitol.
No official estimates of the turnout were available, but it clearly exceeded the 200,000 marchers projected in advance by organisers, filling long stretches of downtown Washington around the White House and the National Mall.
Many wore knitted pink cat-eared "pussy hats", an appropriated reference to Trump's boast in a 2005 video made public weeks before the election about grabbing women's genitals.
Among the well-known figures who attended were pop star Madonna, singer-actress Cher and former US secretary of state John Kerry.
Hundreds of thousands more women thronged New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and Boston, adding to a public outpouring of dissent against Trump unmatched in modern US politics for a new president's first full day in office.
So-called Sister March organisers estimated 750,000 demonstrators swarmed the streets of Los Angeles, one of the largest of Saturday's gatherings.
About 400,000 marchers assembled in New York City, according to mayor Bill de Blasio, although organisers put the number at 600,000.
The Chicago event grew so large that organisers staged a rally rather than trying to parade through the city.
Police said more than 125,000 people attended there, while sponsors estimated 200,000.
The mostly peaceful protests illustrated the division in a country still reeling from the bitterly fought 2016 election campaign.
Trump stunned the world by defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state and first lady who made history as the first woman nominated for president by a major US political party.
Although Republicans control the White House and both houses of Congress, Trump faces opposition from wide segments of the public, in contrast with the honeymoon period new presidents typically experience.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found Trump had the lowest favourability rating of any incoming US president since the 1970s.
Women-led protests against Trump, who has vowed that US policy would be based on the principle of "America first", also were staged in Sydney, London, Tokyo and other cities across Europe and Asia.
Sister March sponsors boasted about 670 gatherings around the world, estimating a global turnout of more than 4.6 million participants, although that number could not be independently verified.
