Ironically, women in Afghanistan also had those freedoms when the USSR took control. Agreeing with you entirely, I might go further and offer some more concret

Ironically, women in Afghanistan also had those freedoms when the USSR took control. Agreeing with you entirely, I might go further and offer some more concrete advice. If you are feeling helpless, it might be a good idea to turn towards thinking about changes that you can affect in your own country. Which, presumably (ok, statistically, we're on HN), is an affluent democracy. Trying to change policy in China or Russia if you are outside those countries is a self-defeating exercise in futility (sad to say, that may be true even if you live there). But I mean. Every year there are (rightly) outpourings of grief and rage on the anniversary of Tiananmen square. But the people who are responsible for the Gwangju massacre are living out their lives well within reach of the FBI. The USA is able to fight doggedly to get Julian Assange extradited to the US at enormous expense. But Chun Doo Hwan dies peacefully in his sleep as a wealthy man... Wake up and get a grip. Fixing situations like that is where the hope is. The set of paired examples that history provides for us on this practically endless.