The future is female, Hillary Clinton declares, in first comments since Trump’s inauguration

Hillary Clinton said the “future is female” in her first public address since Donald Trump’s inauguration as president.

In a video recorded for a women’s leadership conference in California, Clinton did not mention her 2016 election rival Trump and instead applauded the women who protested across the globe the day after his inauguration.

“Despite all the challenges we face, I remain convinced that yes, the future is female,” Clinton said Monday. “Just look at the amazing energy we saw last month as women organised a march that galvanised millions of people all over our country and across the world.”

More than a million people turned out for the women’s marches, which was the largest mass demonstration in US history.

Momentum from the women’s marches has cascaded to dozens of protests, including demonstrations against the Trump administration’s travel ban , in support of scientists and backing LGBT rights.

Activists have also called on women internationally to strike on March 8 against male violence and in support of reproductive rights.

Clinton did not mention the upcoming demonstrations, but urged women to “step up and speak out” in a recorded video for the Makers conference, an annual women’s leadership event that began in 2014, held this week in California.