Okay so here I am, january 24 2026, it’s bloody freezing in faridabad even though people say north india winters are “Nothing”, my fingers are half numb typing this and the geyser decided to die again this morning so cold shower vibes. Social movements every woman should know about? Yeah I’ve been thinking about them non-stop lately because honestly I feel kinda late to the party sometimes. Like I’ll see a reel about some protest and think “Wait how did I miss learning this properly in school?”
Why I keep coming back to social movements every woman should know about
The first one that always hits different is the suffrage movement. Like 100+ years ago women were getting arrested for just asking to vote. Arrested! I remember reading about the night of terror in american prisons and feeling physically sick – force feeding, beatings. And then I feel stupid because here I am in 2026 complaining about slow wifi when those women couldn’t even own property properly. Anyway I went down a rabbit hole last week at 2am (couldn’t sleep cuz of the neighbour’s loud bollywood music) and found this amazing archive – the library of congress women’s suffrage materials – real letters, photos, it makes it feel less like textbook stuff.
I also have to admit I used to think suffrage was basically white ladies in fancy hats. Which… embarrassing but true. Then I learned more about black women like sojourner truth and ida b. Wells who were doing double the work against racism and sexism. My brain short-circuited a little realizing how much was erased from the main story. So yeah social movements every woman should know about need that intersectional lens or it’s just half the picture.
The ones that actually changed my day-to-day thinking
Second wave feminism in the 60s-70s – this one messed me up good. I read bits of “The feminine mystique” last month (okay fine I skimmed a pdf because buying books is expensive right now) and the part about women feeling trapped in perfect housewife roles? It reminded me of my own aunties who smile and say “Adjust” when you ask why they never got to finish their degrees. I cried in the metro once thinking about it, people stared, very awkward.
Metoo though… that one felt personal in a different way. 2017 I was still in college, saw all the stories flooding in, and suddenly every creepy uncle comment or “Just a joke” boss moment felt different. I never shared my own small story publicly because anxiety but reading tarana burke’s work made me feel less alone. If you want the real roots not just the hollywood version, metoomvmt.Org has the actual history.
Also can’t skip BLMand how it intersects with women’s rights. As someone who isn’t black, I’ve had to sit with uncomfortable truths about my own blind spots. 2020 protests here in india had their own flavor but seeing global solidarity was powerful. I marched once locally, got tear-gassed for the first time, coughed for three days straight, but felt strangely alive.
Quick list because my brain is jumping everywhere
- Suffrage (duh but still massive)
- Second wave & reproductive rights battles
- #MeToo & workplace harassment reckoning
- Intersectional fights (black feminism, dalit women movements in india, indigenous women land defenders)
- Climate justice led by women (greta but also vanessa nakate and so many others)
- Anti-caste & gender fights happening right now in our backyard
I’m sure I’m forgetting some important ones. Probably a lot. That’s the thing – I’m not an expert, just someone trying to learn without being performative about it.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed and think “What’s the point, nothing changes” but then I remember small wins – like more women in my office speaking up in meetings now, or my cousin deciding she doesn’t want kids and her parents (grudgingly) accepting it. Those come from these social movements every woman should know about, even if progress feels glacial.
Look, this post is messy, probably has typos, I switched tenses like three times, but whatever. If you’re reading this and something resonates (or annoys you), drop a comment. Tell me which social movement every woman should know about hit you hardest or which one I’m sleeping on. I’m still figuring it out too.
