Activism

Activism is action for a political or social purpose that can take many forms, like protesting, petitioning representatives, voting, writing and educating members of your community, boycotting, striking and speaking out. It can be big or small, independent or through a network.

A Month of Fear: ICE’s Surge in Minneapolis and the Backlash That Won’t Quit

PUBLISHED 1/17/2026 by

For the people of Minneapolis, it has been another week of startling violence as the Trump administration continues to mobilize ICE officers into the city—shuttering schools and businesses and leaving residents afraid to leave their homes. Still, thousands have taken to the streets to resist.

One such resister’s story came to us through our Ms. community: Skye, a disabled U.S. Marine Corps veteran who has been participating in citizen observer efforts to warn neighbors about ICE presence. “This is my duty,” she told Ms. “I took an oath to defend the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. … [ICE agents] are terrorizing our citizens.”

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that people aren’t staying silent. Protests have filled streets in Minneapolis and far beyond. As we honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we’re reminded that racial justice, gender equality, reproductive rights and an end to state violence are intertwined struggles.

Oscar-Shortlisted Film ‘Belén’ Exposes the Injustice That Helped Transform Argentina’s Abortion Laws

PUBLISHED 1/13/2026 by

Belén didn’t know she was pregnant until she miscarried in a hospital. She’d gone to the emergency room suffering excruciating abdominal pain. Instead of receiving care, she awoke from surgery handcuffed to her hospital bed and accused of having an illegal abortion.

This is the true story behind Belén, a powerful new Argentine film directed by, written by and starring Dolores Fonzi. It is based on the ordeal of a young woman from northern Argentina, chronicled in Ana Correa’s nonfiction book What Happened to Belén: The Unjust Imprisonment That Sparked a Women’s Rights Movement, the prologue of which was written by Margaret Atwood.

Despite a lack of evidence, Belén was charged with aggravated homicide and sentenced to eight years in prison.

After two years, Belén was freed, thanks to the legal work of activist and lawyer Soledad Deza and the sustained support of women’s organizations and women’s rights activists and movements, such as “Ni Una Menos” (Not One Less). Her case became a rallying cry for reproductive rights, with thousands taking to the streets under the banner #LibertadParaBelen (“Freedom for Belén”), paving the way for Argentina’s historic legalization of abortion in 2020.

The Trap of ‘Existence as Resistance’: Surviving Authoritarianism by Expanding Networks of Care

PUBLISHED 1/3/2026 by

So you and your polycule have found a cute little house to rent, and you’re finally going to build the queer commune of your dreams. All that’s missing is the rainbow flag in the window and the “In Our America…” sign on the lawn. 

While it would be all too easy to subscribe to the idea that your very existence is a form of resistance, we should all be mindful to avoid this trap. It’s true, for those of us in blended, non-normative, queer and chosen families, our ability to succeed and thrive is something to celebrate.

However, our existence alone is not enough to challenge the oppressive systems we live under.

However, our existence alone is not enough to challenge the oppressive systems we live under.

(This essay is part of a collection presented by Ms. and the Groundswell Fund highlighting the work of Groundswell partners advancing inclusive democracy.)

‘We’re 53 Years Ahead of Where They Were Then’: Looking Back at 50+ Years of Ms.—and Looking Forward to a Feminist Future

PUBLISHED 12/29/2025 by

In a new bonus episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, Ms. executive editor Kathy Spillar, consulting editor Carmen Rios, Ms. Committee of Scholars co-chair Janell Jobson, and legendary author, activist and professor Loretta Ross explore how the stories of our past can continue to inspire us—and give us hope in the fight forward.

“I don’t believe that the assault on women and women’s rights can be extracted from the overall dysfunction of all societies.”

“We have to keep rewriting history and reclaiming history, especially knowing that the forces out there are doing what they can to erase us.”

“There’s a long lineage of people who have been fighting this fight, because they know that we deserve justice.”

Disrupting Intimidation: How Texas Hotel Workers Are Shaking Up the Industry 

PUBLISHED 12/27/2025 by

The hotel had become a place where women endured hellish conditions and were expected to stay silent.

They decided to break that silence.

***

More than 70 percent of hotel housekeepers in the United States are women. Their labor is the backbone of an industry that markets comfort but often denies dignity to those who create it. At Sonesta Select Austin North, the women who knew every hallway, every cart and every stain were treated as if they were disposable. What they experienced is a common issue when those doing the hardest work have the least power.

(This essay is part of a collection presented by Ms. and the Groundswell Fund highlighting the work of Groundswell partners advancing inclusive democracy.)

The Best and Worst Quotes of 2025, By and About Women

PUBLISHED 12/23/2025 by and

A collection of this year’s most inspiring and infuriating things said by and about women. Some quotes hit like a shot, others a palate cleanser. Here they are in alternating fashion. 

“Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious—a terrible, actually a terrible reporter.”

“Yes, this work will break your heart. Some days, it will exhaust you, and still, you must continue, because here’s what the research ultimately shows: When younger people lead, democracy doesn’t just survive, it thrives.”

“We are initiated into a sisterhood. We’re in a sorority that none of us asked to join, but we all stand here today, stronger together, because our collective voice is powerful.” 

A Global Telehealth First: Women Help Women Begins Producing Abortion Pill Combipack

PUBLISHED 12/14/2025 by

The feminist telehealth provider Women Help Women is redesigning how abortion pills are packaged to reflect what users actually need: a combination pack that includes one mifepristone tablet and eight misoprostol tablets for use up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

“It’s a huge revolution of who actually gets to decide when, how and with the support of whom they can have an abortion and until when,” said Women Help Women coexecutive director Kinga Jelinska. “It centers the needs of users rather than institutions or markets. The underlying notion is that abortion can be friendly, and abortion can be easy.” 

Self-managed abortion is disruptive. We were told that abortion is a difficult decision; that it has to be difficult to access, and that only doctors control it. Self-managed abortion subverts that,” said Lucía Berro Pizzarossa, fellow coexecutive founder.

Reza Khandan’s Crime: Supporting Women’s Rights in Iran

PUBLISHED 12/12/2025 by | UPDATED 1/9/2026 at 8:35 A.M. PT

It has been a year since 60-year-old Iranian human rights activist Reza Khandan was arrested in what was clearly another official attack on his family. Political prisoners in authoritarian regimes are meant to disappear into hopeless silence, but Reza has become a force to be reckoned with.

“The crime for which Reza Khandan is in prison is the crime of love,” writes Ariel Dorfman, author and friend of Khandan and his wife, activist Nasrin Sotoudeh. “Not just love of his country and its culture. Not just love of humanity and our rights to be human. Not just love for the future. But also, the real reason why he is being punished: Reza loves the extraordinary Nasrin with whom he shares a life, a land, and a cause. How those who persecute Reza must fear his loyalty and steadfastness. He will prevail.”

“I will continue until I achieve legal rights, restore my family’s dignity, and change the conditions of the prison administration,” Khandan wrote. “May the shadow of terror and tyranny be removed from our beloved country one day. And finally, I would like to add: ‘I object to the compulsory hijab!’” 

She Was an Antiabortion Poster Child. Now She’s a Reproductive Freedom Activist.

PUBLISHED 12/10/2025 by and

At the age of 15, Charlotte Isenberg took to social media to process complicated feelings about a miscarriage after alleged sexual abuse. That was what first brought her to the attention of antiabortion groups.

“Almost immediately, anti-abortion actors threaded a narrative for me between my grief, my miscarriage and anti-abortion sentiment. I clung to it with desperation,” Isenberg wrote.

Feeling isolated from peers due to both her traumatic experiences and the COVID-19 pandemic, Isenberg found a sense of belonging in these online spaces.

But in May 2024, at age 20, Isenberg says her birth control failed, and she became pregnant for the second time. The timing was devastating: She was unemployed, without stable housing or transportation, and preparing to relocate for college—the first in her family to access higher education. 

When she couldn’t find adequate support for her unplanned pregnancy, Isenberg scheduled an appointment at her local Planned Parenthood for an abortion consultation, unsure of what she would ultimately decide. Another prominent antiabortion activist, one of Isenberg’s best friends in the movement, found out about her appointment; she and other members of the group intervened aggressively.

Despite this pressure, Isenberg was able to make the decision that was best for her and her body. Since her own abortion, she’s become a reproductive freedom activist, educating others about extremist antiabortion tactics and promoting systemic protections for people navigating reproductive healthcare.