And so, Daryrush Valizedeh’s rank pro-rape rally, which was set to take place in over 40 countries, has been cancelled. The self-proclaimed neomasculinist / pick-up artist / rape enthusiast apparently felt too much concern over the “safety” and “privacy” of the “men” who were hoping to attend, and now they’ve sacked it all off. “While I can’t stop men who want to continue meeting in private groups, there will be no official Return Of Kings meetups,” wrote Daryrush (nicknamed Roosh) in a trag blog entry last night. “The listing page has been scrubbed of all locations. I apologize to all the supporters who are let down by my decision.”

The news came literally hours after a fierce all-female boxing team called the Toronto Newsgirls publicised their plans to attend the rally. Hoping to join the feminist counterdemo that had been set up on Facebook, the team – led by Savoy ‘Kapow!’ Howe – were planning on crashing (and non-violently intimidating) all the men who turned up. “The photos of us will show women that being powerful is an option,” she declared. “And I think that’s what needs to happen against this douchebag.” In light of recent news about it’s cancellation, we caught up with Howe to hear more about what would have potentially happened – and how they hope to deal with “douchebags” like Roosh in future.

Hey Savoy, thanks for talking to us. You’ve probably already heard that tomorrow’s protest got cancelled...

Savoy Howe: This is just the beginning.

What do you mean by that?

Savoy Howe: Well they’re still out there. We have to send a clear message that we're not going to put up with this. Like, these guys really are just basement rats with too much time on their hands. You can create any movement on the computer – and (Roosh) has created this movement of basement rat guys who can’t keep women, who pay him money to read his crap, and he’s a nobody. He’s just a fella who’s got a really bad mind.

“If that douchebag (Roosh) were there and he threw the first punch, I would happily spend the night in jail for countering it” – Savoy Howe

What are your thoughts on Roosh cancelling the protest over “safety”?

Savoy Howe: I think it’s pretty funny. I don’t doubt he’s cancelled – these are a bunch of skinny, out of shape guys who all of a sudden heard that a bunch of female boxers are going to come and kick their butt! (laughs)

Do you think that you could have been part of the reason the protestors decided to cancel?

Savoy Howe: I honestly have no idea. I hope! I really do hope! We do now have a huge rally planned for tomorrow night at Toronto City Hall. I've invited women from boxing clubs and martial arts studios to come out and make themselves available as coaches, and we’ve invited anyone who wants to learn how to throw a punch to come out, and we want them to leave with three solid, good moves in their back pocket – whether it’s a kick or a punch – so they can know how to use it against douchebags like these guys. It’s going to be pretty funny.

What if they do show up?

Savoy Howe: We've put a call out to all our male allies, and the park they’re supposed to meet in is less than a mile away from us, so we’re sending them into the park. Then, at an agreed upon time, we’re going to crank on the soundsystem, and they’re all going to start singing Whitney Houston’s “I'm every woman” (laughs). That way, we can know who the basement rats are, because a basement rat would never sing a song like that.

What were you actually planning to do if the march had gone ahead? Were you just going to intimidate them?

Savoy Howe: We were planning to show up in numbers with our gloves high in the air and show our presence. We’re non-violent. If douchebag (Roosh) was there – and I doubt he goes to anything because he’s too skinny and scrawny and cowardly – but if he were there and threw the first punch, I would happily spend the night in jail for countering it. But we really are non-violent. We just like to make a presence. We would stand up for anybody if we ever had to, and if we had the skills to, but we’re not about beating anybody up.

Have you ever met someone who’s been directly effected by Roosh’s ‘preachings’?

Savoy Howe: I got some information from a couple of women who went to their protests and one of them is basically in hiding. She went to one of their protests a couple of years ago and happened to speak up against them – she used her voice to put them down – and she was videotaped. They found out who she was, and they have basically been harrassing her for five years over the internet. Like, death threats. I also received two calls from women that I don’t know – they called within six hours of us being on the front cover of the newspaper – saying “Please be careful. You don’t know what you”re dealing with.” And that put a little bit of fear in me, but the more I think about it it’s like no! These guys aren’t pumping it up in the gym – those guys actually get dates.

So what do you ultimately hope to achieve with what you’re doing? What’s the overall goal?

Savoy Howe: The ideal outcome is to have lots of images out there of strong, powerful women, so that other women know that that is an option. I want to show women how easy it is to learn how to throw a strong punch, and a strong kick, so that you have those tools in your pocket so that you don’t walk around afraid. Truly for self-defense, or possibly to defend somebody else. All for good purposes.

Learn more about Savoy and the Toronto Newsgirls on their website here