Harassment, hate speech, violent online content, and disinformation—these are long-standing tactics of alt-right movements that are only now entering the mainstream of public debate. However, it is worth noting that women were their first targets years ago. Today, as the internet becomes increasingly radicalized (a process known as the alt-right pipeline) and nationalist groups grow louder and more influential, we should ask: how have women fought against fascist environments? What can we learn from their battle against right-wing ideologies and groups?
Right-wing populists around the world seem to be competing in an unofficial contest for the most embarrassing spectacle of the year. Elon Musk gives a Nazi salute, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance publicly humiliate the president of a war-torn Ukraine at the White House, and support for ultra-nationalist parties in Germany and Poland is steadily rising. The fate of millions of Palestinian men and women is being determined by business plans for the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Vladimir Putin flexes his muscles and continues attacks on civilian areas, while the U.S. president justifies him by saying that “anyone in his position would do the same.” We all feel like the world as we know it is coming to an end. A new era is unfolding. But is there anyone who can skillfully navigate this new reality?
Surprisingly, yes. The world we are talking about is in no way new to women. Harassment campaigns, hate speech, violent online content, and disinformation—these are long-standing tactics of alt-right movements that are only now entering the mainstream of public debate. However, it is worth noting that women were their first targets years ago. Today, as the internet becomes increasingly radicalized (a process known as the alt-right pipeline) and nationalist groups grow louder and more influential, we should ask: how have women fought against fascist environments? What can we learn from their battle against right-wing ideologies and groups?
In October 2020, following a ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, women took to the streets of cities and villages in mass protests. We often recall this moment in Poland’s recent history as a reaction to the radical restriction of abortion rights when the right-wing government decided to sacrifice the lives and health of Polish women while making scandalous statements about female sexuality. Ryszard Terlecki, then Deputy Speaker of the Sejm, even called one woman a “moron” in direct conversation. It was also a moment when many men first realized the true state of reproductive rights in Poland.
However, during the protests, it quickly became clear that women’s dissatisfaction—and, to put it bluntly, their rage—stemmed from more than just emotions related to abortion rights. Banners made from pizza boxes carried demands for a secular state, education reform, a better healthcare system, changes to the definition of rape, access to the morning-after pill without a prescription, same-sex marriage, public funding for in vitro fertilization, and an end to the stigmatization of non-heteronormative people. Women were outlining a vision for the country: progressive, European, democratic, and egalitarian.
They rapidly organized into collectives and working groups to facilitate change. This led to the creation of the Consultative Council of the National Women’s Strike—an advisory body composed of experts from various fields, who spent months developing recommendations and reports (including one I co-authored on the education system, divided into three sections with proposals for central government, local authorities, and school pedagogical councils). This was not just a reaction to the Tribunal’s ruling but a step forward—a list of solutions and demands to be implemented. The months-long demonstrations were reduced in public discourse to simply, albeit importantly, the fight for reproductive rights. The revolutionary role of hundreds of thousands of women was largely overlooked.
The protests of the National Women’s Strike were an attempt to present an alternative vision for the state. It was not just about democracy. As Professor Magdalena Środa of the University of Warsaw points out, democracy existed in ancient Greece, yet women had no civil rights. What we need to strive for is egalitarian democracy.
A “women’s revolution,” “the female face of protests.” This time, it wasn’t Poland—the international media, including The Guardian, The New York Times, and Deutsche Welle, described Belarus’s revolutionary uprising in August 2020 in these terms. This aligns with my perspective on women’s agency as visionaries of change. It was emphasized that wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters stood face-to-face with security forces, demanding the release of their loved ones, freedom of speech, an end to violence, new democratic elections, and independence from Russia.
It was women who remained on the streets in the days following the contested elections when the prisons were already filled with men. Opposition leaders Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Maryja Kalesnikava were not career politicians before the elections. Tsikhanouskaya is a translator of English, and she stepped in as a presidential candidate in place of her husband, who was imprisoned by Lukashenko for eighteen years on fabricated charges. Kalesnikava is a musician who spent seventeen years teaching the flute. Their strategy was to engage the public in a movement for change by demonstrating that a different Belarus was possible—and that any of us, regardless of background or profession, could be part of that change.
Europe, unfortunately, missed the opportunity to support Belarus at a critical moment, leaving these women to face arrests, exile, and intimidation. But their fight continues.
Women’s presence in public life is crucial. More tools are being implemented to increase their numbers and raise the significance of the roles they hold—it is not just about how many female leaders exist, but to what extent they can shape change. And it is not just about placing a woman in a decision-making position—it is about ensuring that woman is committed to working for other women. After all, it was a woman who led the Constitutional Tribunal when it restricted women’s rights. “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women,” as former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once said.
The influence of women in politics is not only about including perspectives that escape male experience. Their role in peace processes is also significant. Studies show that when women are involved in negotiations, the likelihood of achieving lasting and stable peace increases. This is particularly relevant now, as Donald Trump postures and boasts about his potential role in ensuring peace in Ukraine. In this process, we urgently need female negotiators, leaders, lawyers, and activists.
From my own observations, even in the U.S.-led trade war against Canada and Mexico, media coverage remains unbalanced. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau receives significantly more airtime in international media than Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president. And that’s a shame—because the way Mexico, with less European support, handles this crisis is particularly interesting.
Social media is flooded with far-right, fascist content, and more organizations and influential media outlets—including Gazeta Wyborcza—are leaving X (formerly Twitter) in protest against Elon Musk’s endorsement of controversial posts. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is purging official language of terms like “inclusivity,” “diversity,” “bias,” “oppression,” “stereotype,” “racism,” “gender-based violence,” “LGBT,” “activists,” and “disability.”
But disinformation, trolling, and online harassment are realities that countless women—including world leaders—have long faced. Finland’s former Prime Minister Sanna Marin was viciously attacked by radical right-wing men after a video of her dancing with friends surfaced online. She was accused of lacking seriousness, damaging Finland’s reputation, and even taking drugs. She refuted these harmful claims by taking a drug test and asserting her right to a private life.
This is why women—their voices and, above all, their experience in fighting—are more important than ever. Women have ideas about how to organize the state and know effective strategies for combating fascist movements—because they’ve been doing it for years. They understand the internet and the populists’ tactics because they were the first victims.
So here is a simple appeal: start listening to us.
References:
[1] S. Walker, Belarus’s female revolution: how women rallied against Lukashenko, „The Guardian”, September 12, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/12/belaruss-female-revolution-how-women-rallied-against-lukashenko Accessed 8 March 2025.
[2] I. Nechepurenko, In Belarus, Women Led the Protests and Shattered Stereotypes, „The New York Times”, October 11, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/11/world/europe/in-belarus-women-led-the-protests-and-shattered-stereotypes.html Accessed 8 March 2025.
[3] Breuer, Belarus: Women as the face of protest, „Deutsche Welle”, September 8, 2021, https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-women-as-the-drivers-of-protest/a-58796761 Accessed 8 March 2025.
[4] Women’s Participation and a Better Understanding of the Political, A Global Study on the Implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325, https://wps.unwomen.org/participation/ Accessed 8 March 2025.
[5] Patty Chang, Mayesha Alam, Roslyn Warren, Rukmani Bhatia, Rebecca Turkington, Women Leading Peace, „Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security”, 2015, https://giwps.georgetown.edu/resource/women-leading-peace/ Accessed 8 March 2025.
[6] Chizitera Njoku, The secret to ending a war? More women in peace negotiations, „World Economic Forum”, June 5, 2018, https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/06/women-in-peace-negotiations-end-wars/ Accessed 8 March 2025.
[7] Redakcja „Gazety Wyborczej”, Wychodzimy z X, do zobaczenia na Bluesky, „Gazeta Wyborcza”, November 28, 2024, https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,31499226,wychodzimy-z-x-do-zobaczenia-na-bluesky.html Accessed 9 March 2025.
[8] These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration, „The New York Times”, March 7, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/07/us/trump-federal-agencies-websites-words-dei.html Accessed 9 March 2025.
[9] Chris Kremidas-Courtney, The oldest form of disinformation: narratives targeting women, „Friends of Europe”, January 16, 2023, https://www.friendsofeurope.org/insights/the-oldest-form-of-disinformation-narratives-targeting-women/ Accessed 9 March 2025.
[10] Jon Henley, Finnish PM Sanna Marin cleared of misconduct over partying footage, „The Guardian”, November 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/04/finnish-pm-sanna-marin-cleared-of-misconduct-over-partying-footage Accessed 10 March 2025.
The text was written in collaboration with Mlodzi o Polityce.
Written by Anna Maziarska.
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