Silent, heads bowed. Their faces covered by white bonnets.
In a nod to Margaret Atwoods 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaids Tale, several women draped in crimson robes protested President Trumps visit to Poland on Thursday.
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Activists marched through the streets of Warsaw waving rainbow flags and holding signs that read Dumb Trump and Together Against Racism. In a show of solidarity, the women ripped up their white bonnets in unison. Thursdays protest is the latest in a number of similar demonstrations attracting media attention.
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2017 brilio.net/Nurphoto via Getty Images
The Handmaids Tale details a dystopian future in which women are property of the government and their reproductive rights are supressed. Comparisons have since been drawn between the novel and Americas current political climate.
Now a symbol of unity, Atwoods novel has ignited a global movement to defend womens rights against the Trump administration and its rollbacks on reproductive and health care coverage. Demonstrationshave taken place in Washington DC, New Hampshire, Ohio, Missouri, Texas, New York and since Thursday- Australia and Poland.
A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.#HandmaidsTale pic.twitter.com/k6S9OlvMTF
SBS Australia (@SBS) July 5, 2017
Prior to the Warsaw protest, organisers held gatherings to sew the capes and create the bonnets, with fabric tips and sewing patterns shared on Facebook. While Margaret Atwood refrained from directly commenting, she has retweeted a number of news articles in support of the protest.