Anja Meulenbelt has been resisting unjust inequality for half a century now. Since the 1970s, she has been a figurehead of feminism in the Netherlands and far beyond. From ex-Yugoslavia where she campaigned for victims of sexual war violence in the 1990s, to her unwavering commitment to the Palestinians in Gaza.

Her first book De schaamte voorbij (1976) became a feminist classic. The rich oeuvre that followed includes Habibi, habibi. Gaza-dagboek (2004), Kwart over Gaza. Over zionisme, antisemitisme en islamofobie (2015), Feminisme. Terug van nooit weggeweest (2017), Brood en rozen. Over klasse en identiteit (2019) and Alle moeders werken al. Pleidooi voor een zorgzame samenleving (2022).

Looking back on half a century of activism, Meulenbelt updates the struggle she has been waging for decades. The themes she raises are not born yesterday. And the personal is still political.

What has feminism brought us, and what has it not (yet) brought us? What about men and masculinity today? Why are racism, Islamophobia and anti-migration views on the rise again to such an extreme? Why has poverty still not been eradicated? How can violence against women be understood?

On these other questions, Samira Azabar talks to the author and her guests, feminists and activists of different generations, including Ida Dequeecker, Fatima-Zohra Ait El Maâti and Noëmi Willemen.

Anja Meulenbelt made her breakthrough as an author in The Netherlands 1976 with De schaamte voorbij. She now has more than 50 titles to her name. In addition to her writing, she was a teacher and trainer for years. She founded Feminist Publisher Sara and campaigned for Palestine, among other things. Between 2003 and 2011, she was a member of parliament for the Socialist Party and later stood at the cradle of Bij1.

Ida Dequeecker is a pioneering feminist in of the 1970s. She was one of the initiators of Dolle Mina (1970) and the Fem-Soc groups (1977) in Antwerp, and involved in the Vrouwen Overleg Komitee (1972), now Furia vzw. Today, she is committed to the collective BOEH! Baas Over Eigen Hoofd, which she co-founded in 2007.

Fatima-Zohra Ait El Maâti is a multifaceted artist and feminist, as a curator, programmer and documentary filmmaker. She is the inspirer of the artistic collective Imazi.Reine and the action group Hijabis Fight Back. Community building is central to all her activities, at the intersection of religion, feminism, anti-racism, migration and decolonisation.

Noëmi Willemen is a historian and illustrator of children's books, among other things. She researches the history of motherhood and dedicates herself, among others with Crisiskabinet Kinderopvang and de Kinderopvangzaak, to socially just and pedagogically sound childcare and a sustainable view on parenting and care.

Samira Azabar is a political sociologist at Radboud University Nijmegen, specialising in the political participation of minority groups, gender and sexuality, especially Muslims. She is member of the anti-racist feminist action platform Baas Over Eigen Hoofd (BOEH!) and co-author of the book of the same name BOEH! (EPO,2023).