🧵How 20th Century Women Helped Build the Systems That Silenced Them
Every generation thinks it’s immune to history. But the story of women supporting movements that later enslaved them is as old as civilization itself.
It always begins with virtue. And it always ends with control.👇
Every generation thinks it’s immune to history. But the story of women supporting movements that later enslaved them is as old as civilization itself.
It always begins with virtue. And it always ends with control.👇
2️⃣
In 1978, women filled the streets of Iran demanding justice and moral order.
They thought Islamism would correct the Shah’s corruption and restore dignity after decades of Western humiliation.
Months later, those same women were forced under mandatory hijab. The prisons filled with their sisters.
In 1978, women filled the streets of Iran demanding justice and moral order.
They thought Islamism would correct the Shah’s corruption and restore dignity after decades of Western humiliation.
Months later, those same women were forced under mandatory hijab. The prisons filled with their sisters.
3️⃣
In Afghanistan, village women blessed their sons and brothers as they joined the Mujahedeen. They thought they were fighting for faith and freedom.
By 1996, the Taliban had banned them from school, work, or even stepping outside without a man.
Their victory became their cage.
In Afghanistan, village women blessed their sons and brothers as they joined the Mujahedeen. They thought they were fighting for faith and freedom.
By 1996, the Taliban had banned them from school, work, or even stepping outside without a man.
Their victory became their cage.
4️⃣
In Egypt’s universities of the 1970s, young women led a “modesty revival.”
They wore the veil not by decree, but by choice, A moral protest against state corruption and Western excess.
Within a decade, that choice was gone. What began as empowerment ended as expectation.
In Egypt’s universities of the 1970s, young women led a “modesty revival.”
They wore the veil not by decree, but by choice, A moral protest against state corruption and Western excess.
Within a decade, that choice was gone. What began as empowerment ended as expectation.
5️⃣
Every one of these stories followed the same pattern:
Women joined a cause promising dignity through restraint.
Then men used that restraint as a weapon.
Moral order became moral ownership.
Every one of these stories followed the same pattern:
Women joined a cause promising dignity through restraint.
Then men used that restraint as a weapon.
Moral order became moral ownership.
6️⃣
They didn’t vote for oppression. They voted for meaning, protection, belonging.
But the men who promise purity rarely stop at virtue.
They stop at power.
They didn’t vote for oppression. They voted for meaning, protection, belonging.
But the men who promise purity rarely stop at virtue.
They stop at power.
7️⃣
The lesson isn’t anti-faith, it’s anti-amnesia.
When ideology demands submission “for your own good,” when it romanticizes modesty, obedience, or “natural roles,” remember: it’s never about morality.
It’s only about control.
The lesson isn’t anti-faith, it’s anti-amnesia.
When ideology demands submission “for your own good,” when it romanticizes modesty, obedience, or “natural roles,” remember: it’s never about morality.
It’s only about control.
8️⃣
Every society flirts with this cycle.
First the promise of renewal, then the erosion of freedom disguised as virtue.
If you don’t know this history, you’ll mistake the whisper of protection for the sound of chains.
Every society flirts with this cycle.
First the promise of renewal, then the erosion of freedom disguised as virtue.
If you don’t know this history, you’ll mistake the whisper of protection for the sound of chains.
9️⃣
Moral lesson: Authoritarianism rarely marches in wearing jackboots.
It comes draped in silk, speaking softly about tradition and safety, until it owns you.
Moral lesson: Authoritarianism rarely marches in wearing jackboots.
It comes draped in silk, speaking softly about tradition and safety, until it owns you.
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