At a recent training with male bus drivers in Istanbul to reduce sexual harassment on public transportation, some male bus drivers said they opposed the simple idea that women should be equal to men. One women’s rights activist I spoke to in Istanbul last week, who was part of organizing the training, told me that these men were influenced by the current government’s anti-‘gender ideology’ rhetoric and were opposed to the idea that women should be safe to move about in public spaces.
“They think gender equality is like a knife coming straight at them,” she told me.
I had another opportunity to gain insight from feminists past and present at another event last week with activists and government officials with the Czech Senate commemorating 150 years since the birth of one of the Czech Republic’s most influential feminists, Františka Plamínková. Plamínková was the first woman president of the Czech Senate, championed women’s suffrage, and was an early and outspoken voice for women’s participation in politics, women’s right to work outside the home, and the establishment of care services to support working women.She also was an outspoken critic of authoritarianism, and was executed by the Gestapo for publicly defying Hitler.
Like other parts of Europe and the US, right-wing, anti-immigrant, anti-feminist, and anti-LGBTQ+ rights populists are making electoral gains in the Czech Republic. Progressive activists and lawmakers there and around the world know that to speak out for women’s rights is to advocate for all rights and for democracy. And they know that the cause is urgent. As they watch the actions of Trump from afar, our Czech colleagues said they already see how anti-feminist and anti-gender ideology voices in the Czech Republic are empowered by Trump’s actions.
I witnessed a similar reflection of this global shift during an event hosted last week by the NGO Yanindayiz (We Stand By You) in Istanbul, Turkey, where an authoritarian government continues to clamp down on political opponents. The event, originally scheduled to take place at the residence of the US Consulate in Istanbul, had to change venue at the last minute per Trump’s order prohibiting any discussions related to “gender ideology” or diversity, equity, and inclusion. An event to discuss the need for men to be allies for gender equality and hold other men accountable for harm was apparently deemed too dangerous. While the organizers were able to find a new venue and had no fewer prominent folks in the audience – including activists who spoke of the challenges they face when working to advance women’s rights – the ripple effects of President Trump’s actions continue to be felt worldwide.
The repression of feminist voices – from Senator Plamínková through today – demonstrates how frightened authoritarians are by the power of a movement that demands equality for women. Authoritarians are afraid because they understand that when we say women’s rights are human rights, we are speaking a universal truth. They are afraid because advocating for the rights of one oppressed group naturally leads to a broader awareness that all injustices and inequalities must be addressed.
“When oppression gets worse, we don’t back down from our words. We stand by them.”
– Františka Plamínková (1875–1942), first woman president of the Senate of the Czech Republic
Throughout these recent travels, I
have found myself reflecting on all those who have spoken out against the actions of the current and previous Trump administrations, and the many women who publicly and bravely accused him of sexual harassment and assault. And I have thought often of all of those who have remained and continue to remain silent while Trump carries out his attacks on our democracy, on foreign and humanitarian assistance, on our health systems, and more.
All those voters who say they don’t like Trump’s stance on, say, abortion rights, but voted for him anyway. Or those who work alongside Trump and Musk and pretend they don’t see the Project 2025 playbook in which Trump and his team foretold their plans to trample human rights and women’s rights. All those who once gave lip service to women’s rights and now stand silently in the shadows allowing harm to go on.
Senator Plamínková once said that “When oppression gets worse, we don’t back down from our words. We stand by them.” I wonder what she would say of their silence.
Every effort to support trans rights, to protect public health, to fight for gender and racial justice, to support immigrant rights, as helpless as we may feel right now, is to stand by our words and stand up to oppression. Our fight for gender justice is threatening to those who oppose a more just world.
In every act of resistance, we are standing by our words, as Senator Plamínková so powerfully stated. We stand by our word that we will honor the causes of gender equality and social justice, even as it becomes increasingly dangerous to do so.
