Oppressing women is how authoritarianism begins. So listen to what Reform is saying | Zoe Williams

We saw it when Russia jailed members of Pussy Riot, and again when the US overturned Roe v Wade: misogyny is a powerful political weapon. Let’s focus on fighting it, not ‘understanding’ it In preparation for interviewing Pussy Riot’s Maria “Masha” Alyokhina at the Charleston festival, I was reading her new memoir, Political Girl . I thought I remembered the group’s origin story pretty well – in 2012, they performed their anthem, Punk Prayer (Virgin Mary Banish Putin), and two band members were i