The group was small but their voices were loud as women activists in purple from various organisations and political parties protested against “Toxic Politics” at the Esplanade, Penang today.

Cars honked as they passed by while the women carried placards shouting slogans like “No violence, no racism” and “They can’t kill your dreams, so they assassinate your character”.

Today's event was held simultaneously with the one in Kuala Lumpur, where some 1,000 people turned-up at the rally attended by the fourth prime minister's wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali and her daughter Marina Mahathir, former Bar Council chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan, G25’s Noor Faridah Arifin and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

In Penang, where some 50 people gathered, Women's Crisis Centre president Mariam Lim said although the country had celebrated Merdeka for 60 years, women's rights and issues have regressed...