Many women throughout history have fought in different ways to achieve gender equality. Although there is still a long way to go, a large part of the rights that women enjoy today are owed to those who came before us.
For this reason, knowing these fighters of all time is very important to continue strengthening gender awareness. These are 12 women who have come a long way and who, with their ideas and their lives, can inspire you to continue fighting for equality.
We present each of them with an inspiring phrase that characterizes it.
1. “The most effective way to do something is to do it” – Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart was born in 1897 and was a professional aviator. She was recognized for achieving incredible marks and for her courage.
In 1935 he began planning a trip around the world. Unfortunately, he never got around to it, and his plane disappeared into the sea. However, before the tragedy, she wrote:
“Please know that I am aware of the dangers, I want to do it because I want to. Women should try to do things as men have done. When they fail their attempts must be a challenge to others.”
2. “You should never be afraid of what you are doing if it is the right thing to do” – Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks, born in Alabama in 1913, was a pioneering black woman in the civil rights movement in the United States.
She refused to give her seat to a white man on the bus, which landed her in jail. But her example was inspiring to many, and she is still remembered today.
3. “A man does what he can. A woman does what a man cannot” – Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is a Chilean writer whose works have been translated into more than 35 languages and whose books now number 65 million copies. She is considered the most widely read living Spanish-language writer in the world.
In her books she portrays different social realities and women are always important characters.
4. “If there’s a book you’d like to read but it’s not written yet, you should be the one to write it” – Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison is an American writer who is very committed to civil rights and against racial discrimination.
In her books she talks about the lives of people of color, and especially women. She has won the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature.
5. “I don’t want others to decide who I will be. I want to decide for myself.” -Emma Watson
Emma Watson became known from a very young age as an actress, for her leading role in the Harry Potter saga. But although it may seem that she had things easy, she has taken it upon herself to take advantage of her international recognition to send empowering messages to young women around the world.
6. “There was a time when women activists asked men to fight for their rights. But this time we are going to do it on our own” – Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai is Pakistani and, using the Internet and a blog as a medium, she fought for years for the education of girls in Pakistan. In 2012, because of her struggle, she was fatally shot, but survived.
That led her to come out of anonymity and that her face and voice were known. But above all, so that her fight would be made visible. At 17, she was the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Her message transcends the world, mainly through her book “Yo Malala”.
7. “We don’t need magic to change our world. Actually, we carry all the power we need within us.” – JK Rowling
The writer of the famous Harry Potter wrote her work at a coffee table, being a single mother, and had to type the manuscript twice because she had no money for photocopies.
Many publishers rejected her book, and when it was finally accepted, they suggested that she put the initials JK instead of her name (Joanne), so that the public would not know that she was a woman.
Today, those acronyms that became her pseudonym represent the strength and capacity of women.
8. “The time has come for women who share a public cause and the time for women as an inert and numerical value within society has died” – Eva Perón
Eva Perón was the wife of Argentine President Juan Domingo Perón. Her unrecognized daughter, she grew up in the countryside, and later worked as an actress, model and broadcaster.
Although both she and her husband were very controversial figures in Argentina, as the first lady of Argentina, she fought for the rights of the humblest and of women. It was during Perón’s presidency that women were granted the right to vote in Argentina.
In 1951, women voted in Argentina for the first time, and it was the only time that Eva was able to do so, since she died shortly after due to severe cervical cancer, at the age of 33.
9. “You only have one life to live. It’s yours. Own it, claim it, live it, do the best you can with it.” – Hillary Clinton
Another first lady, this time from the United States, and who also had a great political career. In addition to being married to President Clinton, she was the United States Secretary of State and a Democratic presidential candidate in the last election.
She thus became the first female candidate to be nominated for the presidency by a major political party in North American history.
10. “You succeed with what you learn” – Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Chanel, better known as Coco, was a French haute couture designer who founded the Chanel brand.
She is the only fashion designer to appear on Time magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century.
11. “And you well know that sexual attractiveness in women ends quickly, and then they have no more what they have in their heads to be able to defend themselves in this filthy life of hell” – Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo was a world-renowned Mexican painter. Her life was marked by her suffering, since polio and a serious accident had her bedridden for a long time.
Most of his work is self-portraits that talk about his life and his pain. However, both she and her husband, Diego Rivera, shared a taste for Mexican folk art with indigenous roots.
She was the author of some 200 works, and one of them was the first painting by a Mexican artist acquired by the Louvre Museum. Although she had a lot of recognition (which even she had a hard time admitting), her work achieved fame and true international recognition after her death.
12. “What is truly immoral is to have given up on oneself” – Clarice Lispector
Clarice Lispector was a Brazilian writer of Jewish origin. She belonged to the generation of 45 in Brazil, being one of the most important writers of this group.
He has written stories and novels, as well as some minor production of children’s books, poems and even paintings.