01Britain · 1759–1797
Mary Wollstonecraft
Ideas & writing
“It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE CONVERSATION
History has many voices.
Fifty lives, ideas and struggles. Portraits of women who challenged what they were told was possible.
50 / 50
These women did not share one politics or one definition of freedom. Their histories include disagreements, exclusions and contradictions. Inclusion recognises influence; it is not an endorsement of every view or action.
01
02France · 1748–1793
Olympe de Gouges
Law & political rights
“Woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
03United States · c. 1797–1883
Sojourner Truth
Freedom & civil rights
“I am a woman’s rights.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
04United States · c. 1822–1913
Harriet Tubman
Freedom & civil rights
“I looked at my hands, to see if I was de same person now I was free.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
05United States · 1820–1906
Susan B. Anthony
Law & political rights
“Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
06United States · 1815–1902
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Law & political rights
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
07United States · 1862–1931
Ida B. Wells
Freedom & civil rights
“The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
08United States · 1858–1964
Anna J. Cooper
Ideas & writing
“I am my Sister’s keeper!”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
09Britain · 1858–1928
Emmeline Pankhurst
Law & political rights
“We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
10Britain · 1847–1929
Millicent Fawcett
Law & political rights
“Courage calls to courage everywhere, and its voice cannot be denied.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
11Poland / Germany · 1871–1919
Rosa Luxemburg
Work & collective action
“Freedom is always the freedom of dissenters.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
12Germany · 1857–1933
Clara Zetkin
Work & collective action
“Hand in hand with the men of her own class, the proletarian woman fights against capitalist society.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
13Russia / Soviet Union · 1872–1952
Alexandra Kollontai
Work & collective action
“The greater the number of conscious fighters, the greater the chances of success.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
14Britain · 1882–1941
Virginia Woolf
Ideas & writing
“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
15France · 1908–1986
Simone de Beauvoir
Ideas & writing
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 3.0
16Mexico · 1907–1954
Frida Kahlo
Art & culture
“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
17United States · 1884–1962
Eleanor Roosevelt
Law & political rights
“It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY 2.0
18Egypt · 1879–1947
Huda Sha'arawi
Law & political rights
“We assembled according to plan at the garden city park, where we left our carriages.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
19Egypt · 1908–1975
Doria Shafik
Law & political rights
“Women as half the nation had to be represented in Parliament, and justly protected.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
20Egypt · 1931–2021
Nawal El Saadawi
Ideas & writing
“I believe in the equal exchange of ideas, and networking.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY 2.0
21Morocco · 1940–2015
Fatema Mernissi
Ideas & writing
“Writing is one of the most ancient forms of prayer.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 4.0
22United States · 1934–1992
Audre Lorde
Ideas & writing
“Your silence will not protect you.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
23United States · 1952–2021
bell hooks
Ideas & writing
“Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 4.0
24United States · born 1944
Angela Davis
Freedom & civil rights
“Prisons do not disappear problems, they disappear human beings.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
25United States · born 1934
Gloria Steinem
Ideas & writing
“Like art, revolutions come from combining what exists into what has never existed before.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 4.0
26United States · 1921–2006
Betty Friedan
Ideas & writing
“The problem lay buried, unspoken for many years in the minds of American women.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
27United States · 1913–2005
Rosa Parks
Freedom & civil rights
“No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
28United States · 1917–1977
Fannie Lou Hamer
Freedom & civil rights
“I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
29United States · 1903–1986
Ella Baker
Freedom & civil rights
“Strong people do not need strong leaders.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
30United States · 1924–2005
Shirley Chisholm
Law & political rights
“It is not too late to complete the work they left undone.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
31Kenya · 1940–2011
Wangarĩ Maathai
Environment & community
“Sustainable management of our natural resources will promote peace.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 2.0
32Nigeria · 1900–1978
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
Work & collective action
“You may have been born, but you were not bred!”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 3.0
33Nigeria · born 1977
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ideas & writing
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY 3.0
34Pakistan · born 1997
Malala Yousafzai
Education & opportunity
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY 2.0
35Iran · born 1947
Shirin Ebadi
Law & political rights
“It is not religion that binds women, but the selective dictates of those who wish them cloistered.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 4.0
36Iran · born 1972
Narges Mohammadi
Law & political rights
“The more of us they lock up, the stronger we become.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
37Yemen · born 1979
Tawakkol Karman
Law & political rights
“My position is determined by my beliefs, and I do not ask anyone’s permission.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 4.0
38Iraq · Yazidi community · born 1993
Nadia Murad
Freedom & civil rights
“With the voice and participation of women, we can make fundamental changes in our communities.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY 2.0
39Guatemala · born 1959
Rigoberta Menchú
Freedom & civil rights
“There is no peace without justice. There is no peace without truth.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
40Honduras · Lenca people · 1971–2016
Berta Cáceres
Environment & community
“Let us wake up, humankind! We are out of time.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY 3.0
41India · born 1952
Vandana Shiva
Environment & community
“Properties perceived in nature will depend on how one looks and how one looks depends on the economic interest one has.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 3.0
42India · 1831–1897
Savitribai Phule
Education & opportunity
“Lack of education leads to lack of wisdom; lack of wisdom leads to lack of morals.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 3.0
43India · 1858–1922
Pandita Ramabai
Education & opportunity
“Our only wonder is that a defenseless woman like Rakhmabai dared to raise her voice.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
44China · 1875–1907
Qiu Jin
Ideas & writing
“With heated heart arouse all women’s spirits.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
45China / Japan · early twentieth century
He-Yin Zhen
Work & collective action
“The goal of equality cannot be achieved except through women’s liberation.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
46Japan · 1886–1971
Hiratsuka Raichō
Ideas & writing
“Passion is the power of prayer.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
47Greece · 1861–1940
Kalliroi Parren
Ideas & writing
“Εγώ, Κυρίαι μου, μένω πολύ ευχαριστημένη ούσα γυνή”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
48Greece · 1920–1994
Melina Mercouri
Art & culture
“You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us.”Her life & words
Image credit · CC BY-SA 3.0
49United States · 1860–1935
Jane Addams
Work & collective action
“the good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
50United States · 1907–1964
Rachel Carson
Environment & community
“In nature nothing exists alone.”Her life & words
Image credit · Public domain
Each profile includes the quotation’s source and context. Translations, excerpts and reported speech are identified. Portrait credits and reuse terms appear with each image.
IN CONVERSATION
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