Two Months into 2025: A feminist perspective on the sh!tstorm
“These are difficult days,” a friend wrote to me in a text today.
We’re only two months into 2025 and I don’t know about you, but I’m barely keeping up with the crap.
I wanted to believe that a new year brings a global reboot — an ability to reset, to start over, to fix our mistakes, to clean the mess, to undo the harm we’ve done to ourselves, to each other, to the earth. Nope. We’re a lot worse.
So, yes. I’d say these are difficult days.
“Difficult” is an understatement. Where to begin?!
- Is it MAGA, its movement and its minions, who are doing everything BUT making America “great”?
- Is it that Guantanamo Bay detention camp will expand — rather than be shut down?
- Is it Musk’s butchering of USAID and near-total destruction of aid systems?
- Is it Trump’s takeover of Gaza, of the Panama Canal, the Gulf of Mexico…?
- Is it the rabid Zionism and anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim violence in America?
- Is it the horrific state of airplanes these days?!
- Is it that no one taught Israel what the words “withdrawal” and “ceasefire” mean — as they continue to occupy Lebanon?
- Is it a 16-month genocide that shows no signs of abating but rather has expanded to the West Bank?
- Is it the dire situation in Sudan that hardly makes the news — while people are dying?
- Is it the denial of women’s rights? Gay rights? Human rights? Reproductive rights? Our rights to live, love, and simply exist in ways that we want?!
- Is it that Bibi, Trump, Musk and all the others are the world’s greatest case study in toxic masculinity we’ve ever seen?
I can’t cover all of these, so here’s a short list of some long stories. Buckle up.
The US-funded Israeli genocide of Palestinians continues — along with violence inflicted in Lebanon and now also Syria. Now the Gaza ceasefire is officially in effect — despite a delay and a very predictable ramping up of violence pre-ceasefire. Netanyahu makes his petty threats, of course, with his desire for (our) blood seemingly insatiable. In addition to violent settlers, Netanyahu’s military minions have advanced into the West Bank looking for so-called “terrorists,” with the IOF set up to remain there for “over a year.” This yet again disproportionately impacts innocent civilians on their land. Estimates say as many as 40,000 will not be able to return to their homes. I’d say every number we’ve heard — especially the death toll — is an understatement.
Next door, Lebanon works to form a new government, while Israel still violates the supposed ceasefire. Here we rest on a delicate balance of hope and denial. The deadline for Israeli forces to fully withdraw from Lebanon was on February 18. Yet, the occupation remains in five locations along the border. And Israeli jets violate Lebanese airspace all too often — just to abuse their power. At the same time, the US expands its embassy in Lebanon into its second largest in the world. And by “embassy,” I mean military base/fortress/underground prison — or so it seems.
Syria has also been battling with its rapid regime change, with Ahmed Al-Sharaa as transitional President. As the country and its people let out a sigh of relief and celebrated their freedom, Israel lurked around the corner. Threatening to destroy their newfound peace, they demanded a “complete demilitarization of much of southern Syria,” making a conflict between the two nations more likely. And as stubborn as ever, Netanyahu vowed Israeli forces would remain indefinitely inside the Syrian territory that they seized since Assad’s fall last December.
Famine in Sudan continues as we look on, while 8 million people risk starvation. Since the closure of USAID projects, this figure is only likely to expand as almost 80% of the emergency food kitchens set up in Sudan have been abandoned. Conflict rages on throughout the country, forcibly displacing 6.1 million people. The war is being fueled by the UAE’s support for the RSF forces, to try and keep its access to Sudan’s vital resources like minerals, land, and trade routes, disregarding the needs and rights of the Sudanese people.
The Taliban continues to crack down on women’s rights and fundamental freedoms in Afghanistan.
After closing down all NGOs that employed women in December, the Taliban struck again in February temporarily suspending operations of Radio Begum, a women-run radio station, until the station pledged to comply with the Taliban’s regulations. Women are also banned from training in medicine, further worsening the shortage of medical professionals in Afghanistan. In 2020, 35% of NGO healthcare workers were women, meaning the field has lost at least 8,842 professionals, thanks to the Taliban’s latest oppressive law.
MAGA, its movement and its minions, are not making America all that great. Trump returned to Office on January 20, which — painfully ironically — was also Martin Luther King day. Where are his principles of nonviolence, civil rights, social justice today? Instead, Trump’s BROligarchs are busy undoing any small gains we’ve made towards human rights and social justice. Elon Musk, Trump’s new underqualified and inexperienced right-hand man, set to work cutting 20,000 federal jobs including critical staff in the Department of Health. Musk demanded all employees justify and summarize their role or risk being fired.
USAID, an institution that was set up to support the world’s most impoverished communities, has been one of the worst hit. As a result, programs have been abandoned and lives are at risk. The catastrophic effects include crimes such as hindering efforts to eradicate polio, risking the lives of up to 110 million children who have missed vaccinations during the USAID freeze. Nearly 3.8 million girls and women lost vital access to contraceptive treatment, HIV vaccine trials have been halted in South Africa, and urgent food programs have stopped with shipments at risk of spoiling — if they are ever allowed to reach their final destination. For example, over 34,800 metric tons of food on its way to communities in Ethiopia is currently stuck. Food — lifesaving stuff. Read more about Trump’s brutal end to aid in my last blog.
His orangeness has smugly (re)claimed the throne and has since taken to referring to himself as “King.” And let’s not even talk about that awful Gaza video. Reading the news is the worst way to start our day, as we’re bound to spit out your morning coffee — or worse — as we scroll through Trump’s latest idiotic rampage. Do we need more evidence of global toxic masculinity?!
And to offer further evidence of this social ill, on Valentine’s Day the White House chose to post a picture of Trump and “border czar” Tom Homan on a pink heart background with the words: “Roses are red, violets are blue, come here illegally, and we’ll deport you.” Days before this hideous White House post, Jocelynn Rojo, an 11-year-old Mexican girl in Texas, took her own life, after bullies at school taunted her, threatening to call immigration police on her family. And meanwhile, America continues to spread unthinkable levels of fear among people who have risked everything to come to what we once thought was “land of the free.”
And to top it all off, violence against women continues — everywhere. No, not in “other countries, other people, over there.” This happens right under our noses — in our homes, communities, and countries. Just look at Gisele Pelicot in France, a stark reminder that the most dangerous place for a woman is in her own home. Gisele’s bravery in opening her case to the public shows that speaking out allows the “shame to change sides,” as she rightly said. This week, the news revealed that Gisele inspired that survivors of France’s largest child abuse trial to testify publicly. But why does this crap have to happen in the first place?!
So… yeah. These are “difficult days.” And I’ve hardly listed half of it.
The question is: What are we going to do about it?!
Are we fighting, pushing back, standing up, speaking out, raising our voices for the causes we care about? I hope so. Sure, it feels pretty crappy right now. But staying silent isn’t an option, because my guess is it’s only going to get worse.
And now March is upon us, with its women’s month/women’s day stuff — which you’ve heard me say should be EVERY day. As a result, I’ll be getting extra loud. So, sign up for my newsletter at www.LinaAbiRafeh.com and raise your voice with me!
The start of 2025 has already been a socio-political rollercoaster… and we’re only 59 days in.
