Feminist authors you should read

Feminism is not the belief that women are superior to men but that women and men are equal. In a world, where men are often considered superior even today, due to outdated beliefs, feminism is necessary to bring the world to balance.

Here are some feminist authors you must read:

This Nigerian writer is known worldwide as a feminist after she gave the TED talk We Should All Be Feminists, which is now published as an essay book. She has written several books, both fiction and non-fiction, highlighting the need for gender equality.

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A British journalist, author and activist, she is the reason that Jane Austen is on a British banknote and the statue of Millicent Fawcett, a suffragist is in Parliament Square. She wrote the groundbreaking book, Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men', which highlights how the world of data collection often ignores women and thus design ignores a woman's needs.

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The late Mahasweta Devi was a Bengali author and an activist. Her best remembered writing is 'Hajar Churashir Maa', 'Rudali', and 'Aranyer Adhikar'. She is known for her work to improve the lives of tribal people as well as her feminist belief and she won several awards for her writing and her activism.

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This famous French author is known for her essays, biographies, autobiographies, monographs and her novels. She was a philosopher and a feminist and her book 'The Second Sex' is a masterpiece of feminist literature. Her best known novels are 'She Came to Stay' and 'The Mandarins'.

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Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati lived from 23 April 1858 – 5 April 1922 and was a woman's rights activist of international renown. She was the first woman to be awarded the title of Pandita as a Sanskrit scholar and the title of Sarasvati after being examined by the faculty of the University of Calcutta. She was one of the 10 women delegates of the Congress session of 1889. She wrote a book on woman's rights titled, 'The High Caste Hindu Woman' which is worth a read even today.

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A professor at JNU then Delhi University, Menon has both written and edited may books on feminism and politics. She is known for her strong opinions and even for being a stand up comedian! Her work is worth looking into to understand the gender politics of our times.

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Steinem is a well known American journalist and activist. She considers herself a radical feminist and has educated many about the injustices women face all over the world with her work. Aside from all her essays and articles, she also has a memoir worth reading where she explains how she became a feminist.

Photo: Wikipedia