12 inspirational quotes by women who are pioneers of equality

One of the earliest recorded strikes by women for equality dates back to 1828. The most recent one is of women in Mexico taking to the street on International Women’s Day. It just goes to show that women have been fighting the battle for equality for centuries. 

Reports by international research organisations like the World Economic Forum say that gender parity is still 99.5 years away if we go at the same pace. Even though women have won some battles, there are many other frontiers that women need to break into.

For years inspirational women, rights activists and campaigners have brought to the fore new ways of thinking about and fighting for equality. Here are quotes by women who are envisioning equality for women. 

"I am a feminist. I’ve been female for a long time now. I’d be stupid not to be on my own side." – Maya Angelou, poet 

"A gender-equal society would be one where the word 'gender' does not exist: where everyone can be themselves." — Gloria Steinem, journalist and activist

"Human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights." – Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State of USA

"Women's liberation is the liberation of the feminine in the man and the masculine in the woman.” — Corita Kent, artist

"I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves." — Mary Shelley, novelist

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"One child must never be set above another, even in casual conversation, not to mention in speeches that circle the globe." – Alice Walker, novelist 

"I demanded more rights for women because I know what women had to put up with." — Evita Peron, Argentinian film actress

“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” – GD Anderson, Australian activist and writer 

"Women belong in all places where decisions are being made... It shouldn't be that women are the exception." – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, US Supreme Court Judge 

"More and more women are realising that only collective strength and action will allow us to be free to fight for the kind of society that meets basic human needs." – Roxanne Dunbar, American Historian

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)