2017 was not an easy year. But, nevertheless, women persisted.
From the inauguration of President Donald Trump (who has been publicly accused of sexual misconduct by 21 women) to the onslaught of attacks on women’s reproductive health, immigration policies, trans rights and more, this year has been tough as hell.
Women, however, did not let up. We marched and protested and wore Handmaids’ robes so the world would know we’re not going to allow such injustices to go on.
To honor these activists, HuffPost rounded up 50 stunning photos of protesting American women and girls that show just how powerful angry women can be. Scroll down to see women persisting, even in the face of overwhelming adversity.
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NurPhoto via Getty ImagesWomen march on International Women’s Day in New York City on March 7, 2017.
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JOSH EDELSON via Getty ImagesA woman has milk poured in her eyes after she was sprayed with a chemical irritant as fights broke out between Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters in Berkeley, California, on April 15, 2017.
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David McNew via Getty ImagesDemonstrators participate in the #MeToo Survivors’ March outside the CNN building on Nov. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles.
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Boston Globe via Getty ImagesA woman is arrested during a confrontation on Washington Street following the “Boston Free Speech” rally and counterprotest on Aug. 19, 2017.
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AFP via Getty ImagesWomen activists from Mexico and the United States braid their hair together in a silent demonstration against the immigration policies of President Donald Trump, on the Santa Fe international bridge that connects Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 20, 2017.
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Saul Martinez/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDemonstrators dressed as characters from the Hulu show “The Handmaid’s Tale,” based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, walk past signage for Trump Plaza during a protest in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 11, 2017.
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Mark Wilson via Getty ImagesU.S. Capitol Police remove a woman from a protest in front of the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Capitol Hill, June 22, 2017.
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PAUL J. RICHARDS via Getty ImagesA woman receives first aid after a car plowed into a crowd of anti-racist demonstrators, killing Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal, in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12, 2017.
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Jeff Swensen via Getty ImagesMarchers walk during the Black Brilliance Collective: March and Gathering on Aug. 19, 2017, in Pittsburgh.
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MARK RALSTON via Getty ImagesVictims of sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual abuse and their supporters protest during a #MeToo march in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on Nov. 12, 2017.
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Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesHoshneara Begun, a Bangladeshi-American woman, wears an American flag hijab as she marches with hundreds of others to protest Trump’s travel ban in Washington, D.C., Oct, 18, 2017.
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JIM WATSON via Getty ImagesTwo women with placards sit on a park bench as demonstrators with Casa in Action and Service Employee International Union 32BJ march in protest of Trump’s immigration policies in Washington, D.C., May 1, 2017.
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The Washington Post via Getty ImagesA woman protests in front of the National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, July 14, 2017.
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David McNew via Getty ImagesVanessa Chairee cries as women call up toward immigrants detained at the Federal Bureau of Prisons Metropolitan Detention Center during the International Women’s Day March and Rally on March 5, 2017, in Los Angeles.
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Carlo Allegri / ReutersWomen dressed as characters from “The Handmaid’s Tale” protest at the exit gate after a campaign rally for Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore in Midland City, Alabama, Dec. 11, 2017.
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Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesThousands of people march through Washington to the White House protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline with members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on March 10, 2017.
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Xinhua News Agency via Getty ImagesProtesters participate in a May Day march in Los Angeles, May 1, 2017. Thousands of Americans took to the streets in major U.S. cities to join demonstrations for the rights of workers, women and immigrants.
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Lucy Nicholson / ReutersMary Arevalo, 29, participates in the International Women’s Day “A Day Without a Woman” anti-Trump protest in Los Angeles, March 8, 2017.
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Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesWomen’s March participant Suzanne Damas of Brooklyn, New York, wears a simple sticker on her forehead to let people know what she thinks of Trump.
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David McNew via Getty ImagesA girl reacts to hateful speech from street preachers at the #ResistMarch during the 47th annual LA Pride Festival on June 11, 2017, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, California.
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Stephanie Keith / ReutersPeople participate in a Women’s March to protest Trump in New York City, Jan. 21, 2017.
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Stephanie Keith / ReutersKandy Freeman takes part in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, Jan. 14, 2017.
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NurPhoto via Getty ImagesA woman cries during the Women’s March in San Francisco on Jan. 21, 2017, after Trump’s presidential inauguration.
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VIEW press via Getty ImagesA woman shouts slogans against Trump as activists take part in a Tax Day protest on April 15, 2017, in New York City.
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Spencer Platt via Getty ImagesA woman is arrested during a pro-immigration rally outside Trump Tower on Aug. 15, 2017, in New York City.
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ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS via Getty ImagesA woman reads messages on paper cones with electric candles in them at the Washington Monument during a protest against Trump in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 3, 2017.
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ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty ImagesDemonstrators hug during protests on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 2017.
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Scott Olson via Getty ImagesDemonstrators protest for higher wages and better working conditions on the 49th anniversary of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 2017, in Chicago.
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David McNew via Getty ImagesA woman makes a peace sign before a line of police preparing to advance upon demonstrators after a Trump rally at the Phoenix Convention Center on Aug. 22, 2017, in Phoenix.
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MARK RALSTON via Getty ImagesVictims of sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual abuse and their supporters protest during a #MeToo march in Los Angeles on Nov. 12, 2017.
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KENA BETANCUR via Getty ImagesA woman with a slogan written on her back is seen during an International Women’s Strike Rally on March 8, 2017, in New York City.
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Michael B. Thomas via Getty ImagesA woman watches as law enforcement officers secure an area during a protest action following a “not guilty” verdict for former police Officer Jason Stockley on Sept. 15, 2017, in St. Louis. Stockley was charged with first-degree murder last year in the 2011 shooting death of motorist Anthony Lamar Smith.
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ERIC BARADAT via Getty ImagesA woman and her children join hundreds of protesters gathering at Lincoln Park to take part in a march for racial justice in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30, 2017.
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JOSHUA LOTT via Getty ImagesA woman holds signs during the People’s Climate March on April 29, 2017, in Chicago.
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Chip Somodevilla via Getty ImagesA U.S. Capitol Police officer carries a woman’s cane after arresting her for protesting against the Republican health care repeal and replace legislation outside the offices of Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on July 19, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
Warning: The following photo contains nudity.
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NATALIE BEHRING via Getty ImagesA topless woman holds a “Resist” flag during a protest to oppose Patriot Prayer, a right-wing group, in downtown Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 10, 2017.
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NATALIE BEHRING via Getty ImagesA woman is arrested after punching a member of Patriot Prayer during a rally in downtown Portland on Sept. 10, 2017.
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NurPhoto via Getty ImagesLady Liberty dances during the Not My Presidents Day rally near Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York City on Feb. 20, 2017.
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NurPhoto via Getty ImagesProtesters attend a #MeToo rally in Los Angeles to denounce sexual harassment and assault, Nov. 12, 2017.
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Mario Tama via Getty ImagesProtesters walk during the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
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Andy Kiss via Getty ImagesWomen’s March co-organizer Linda Sarsour, at left, and other organizers of the “A Day Without a Woman” rally are escorted into the 7th Precinct after being arrested while protesting outside Trump Tower on March 8, 2017, in New York City.
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St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Getty ImagesA woman shouts her name and date of birth to jail support volunteers as protesters are arrested after leaving Interstate 64 on Oct. 3, 2017. People were protesting the Jason Stockley verdict, in which he was found not guilty in the shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith.
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Drew Angerer via Getty ImagesA woman holds up her handcuffed wrists as she attends a rally to mark International Women’s Day in New York City’s Washington Square Park, March 8, 2017.
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Justin Sullivan via Getty ImagesA Native American woman stands in front of the White House during a demonstration against the Dakota Access Pipeline on March 10, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
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Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesA woman holds a banner reading “Muslim Lives Matter” during a protest against racism and hate in Chicago on Aug. 27, 2017.
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NurPhoto via Getty ImagesA young Native American woman from the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota yells at police to stop their aggressive actions during demonstrations in downtown Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2017.