Feminist Roundup: The Best and Worst Quotes of 2024

“A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not.”

“I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too.”

“Our ability to end a pregnancy with just a few pills—safely, privately, at home and without shame—was too much for them to take.”

“The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact check.”

“Birth control really screws up female brains.”

A collection of this year’s most inspiring and infuriating things said by and about women.

Keeping Score: Women Stockpile Plan B Post-Election; Feminists React to Trump’s Cabinet Picks; Harriet Tubman Finally Recognized for Military Service

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Women stockpile emergency contraception and medication abortion after the election; one in five Americans gets news from social media influencers; House Republicans Nancy Mace and Speaker Mike Johnson harass incoming trans Representative Sarah McBride; Michelle Obama explains the double standards Kamala Harris faced; childcare costs more than rent for many families; Trump’s Cabinet picks spread sexist messages; Rep. Erica Lee Carter (D-Texas) became the 95th member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus after winning a special election to replace her late mother Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee; acknowledging Native Women’s Equal Pay Day; Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman was finally recognized for her military service; Trump’s margin over Harris will be about 1.5 points, the fifth-smallest gap since 1900; and more.

Gisèle Pelicot, the Woman at the Center of France’s Mass Rape Trial, ‘Never Regretted’ Making the Decision to Go Public

“I never, even for a single second, gave my consent to Mr. Pelicot or those other men.”

Halfway through the mass rape trial in France that has been shocking the world and brewing feminist rage since September, survivor Gisèle Pelicot took the stand for the first time on Wednesday to share her nightmarish story.

On why she’s taking a stand: “I wanted all woman victims of rape—not just when they have been drugged, rape exists at all levels—I want those woman to say: Mrs. Pelicot did it, we can do it too.”