12 Feminist Moments That Made Headlines In 2025
Let us look back at 12 feminist moments from 2025 that forced everyone to confront urgent questions about power, freedom, and consent.
Adithya Kamesh
Writer. Reviewer. Storyteller. Avid reader and cinephile.
Open to collaborating on projects spanning art, literature, contemporary politics and thought-provoking reviews.
Decoding The Disturbing And Dehumanizing Language Of The Incel Community
Incel”, short for involuntarily celibate, refers to men who blame women, society, and feminism for their lack of sexual and romantic success. The incel community is active across the world, including in India. They engage, both within and outside the incel community, through online platforms such as Reddit, 4chan, Telegram groups, and dedicated forums where misogynistic ideas are often circulated and reinforced. Over time, the incel movement has also gained notoriety for its association with acts of extreme violence, particularly those targeting women.
The Eyes Of Gaza By Plestia Alaqad: Endurance Amid Genocide
Through The Eyes of Gaza, Plestia Alaqad offers a textured, deeply human portrait of endurance amidst the noise and falsehoods of Western mainstream media and their complicity in the genocide through the perpetuation of Zionist narratives that cast occupiers as victims, resistance as terror, and genocide as self-defense.
Vinothraj’s Pebbles: A Meditation on Solastalgia – Senses of Cinema
Set in the sun-scorched interiors of rural Tamil Nadu, Pebbles (P.S. Vinothraj, 2021) explores the emotional and psychological toll of surviving in an environment that is both intimately known and becoming increasingly unliveable. It is a quiet but searing portrayal of solastalgia – the deep psychological distress caused by climate change, where one suffers not from displacement but from the slow, steady death of the land they call home.
Rape As Gameplay: What 'No Mercy' Says About Tech, Culture, And Consent
'No Mercy'—a story-based PC game centered around a male protagonist who engages in rape and coercion—has sparked widespread online outrage.
The Anatomy Of Control: Representations Of The Vagina And Female Genitalia In Literature
Depictions of the vagina have profoundly shaped our views on women's bodies and sexuality, and this is reflected in art, literature, medicine, and other spheres of life even today.
Wombs And The War On Freedom: A Study Of The Fascist Obsession With Reproductive Control
We are at a pivotal moment in history, where sexual and reproductive rights are under growing threats. Access to safe abortions—a fundamental right—is becoming increasingly restricted across countries.
Claustrophobia and Control: Discussions on spaces in Girls Will Be Girls by Adithya Kamesh
Girls Will Be Girls is the poignant coming-of-age story of Mira (Preeti Panigrahi), set against the backdrop of strict environments. Written and directed by Shuchi Talati, this movie is also her first feature directorial debut. Girls Will Be Girls premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the audience award and critical acclaim. It is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Footbinding And The Endless Struggle For Women’s Bodily Autonomy
Footbinding is the custom of binding the feet of young women with tight bandages to change their shape and size. This practice was prevalent in late Imperial China and lasted a whopping thousand years, from the 10th century to the early 20th century.
Footbinding is a stark reminder of the lengths to which societies have gone—and still go—to control women’s bodies and movement.
Footbinding is a stark reminder of the lengths to which societies have gone—and still go—to control women’s bodies and movement.
'Feminist Fathima' And The Roast Of Patriarchy: A Discussion
Feminist Fathima is Fasil Muhammed’s directorial debut, a profound, satirical take on patriarchal control and religious fundamentalism. This film premiered at the 29th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), under the International Competition category. It went on to win five awards at the festival, including the jury prize and the audience poll award. Because of its rich, multi-layered narrative and profound themes, this film calls for a detailed analysis.
Kottukkaali: A Homage to Resilience in the face of Patriarchal Oppression
The Tamil word “kottukkaali” refers to a young woman who acts according to her own will, but whose actions her family and society consider wrong. Loosely, it translates to “an adamant girl.”
Directed by PS Vinothraj, Kottukkaali (The Adamant Girl) is the story of Meena (Anna Ben), who is taken on a pilgrimage by her family under the pretext of exorcism, to “rid” her of her rebellious behavior: falling in love with a man outside her caste and insisting that she will only marry him.
Directed by PS Vinothraj, Kottukkaali (The Adamant Girl) is the story of Meena (Anna Ben), who is taken on a pilgrimage by her family under the pretext of exorcism, to “rid” her of her rebellious behavior: falling in love with a man outside her caste and insisting that she will only marry him.
No Other Land (Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor) — A Film Review by Adithya Kamesh
No Other Land is a riveting documentary that captures the mass expulsion of the Palestinian villagers of Masafer Yatta, a community of 20 hamlets housing native Palestinians.
The film is a collaborative work by four activists—Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor. The film premiered at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in the Panorama section, where it received critical acclaim. It went on to win the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film and the Berlinal...
The film is a collaborative work by four activists—Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor. The film premiered at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in the Panorama section, where it received critical acclaim. It went on to win the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film and the Berlinal...
Flaming Forest, Wounded Valley: Stories from Bastar and Kashmir by Freny Manecksha, Book Review – Writing Women
“A bold account of those who dare to tell their stories of struggle, and even go to jail for doing so.”
The book opens with this powerful statement, setting the tone for what the readers can expect: a deep exploration of the human spirit amidst the harsh realities of two regions most heavily militarized by the Indian State – Bastar and Kashmir.
The book opens with this powerful statement, setting the tone for what the readers can expect: a deep exploration of the human spirit amidst the harsh realities of two regions most heavily militarized by the Indian State – Bastar and Kashmir.