Awakening Lib/E

The #MeToo movement encouraged women around the world to push for their rights in new ways, but mainstream coverage has tended to center on famous figures in the United States and Britain. This book turns to the women whose stories rarely make the headlines. Their campaigns have met censorship, arrests and even murder, and their achievements include laws that outlaw sexual harassment. For many of them, #MeToo was neither the start of their struggle nor its conclusion.

The chapters travel across the globe. In Nigeria, women take on abuse within universities and megachurches. Chinese activists work around internet censorship and continue despite detention. Egyptian demonstrators keep up their resistance in the face of a president's hostile rhetoric. Pakistani actresses challenge men they accuse of abuse in court, and Brazilian women seek elected office despite threats of intimidation and violence. The book also examines Sweden, a nation that takes pride in its gender equality, where the movement has unsettled public life.

Some of these women had spent years working on feminist causes before #MeToo arrived, while others were drawn into activism by a wave of social media momentum. The author pairs their personal accounts with expert analysis of the political landscape, celebrating their bravery, explaining the societies they live in, and assessing the struggles that remain. It offers an account of what may be the most wide-ranging global reckoning over women's rights to date.