'For Women’s History Month, I choose to celebrate female literary heroines across the world who in their own unique ways champion the cause of women and play a part in our road to liberation.'
Women have been fighting patriarchy using the power of the pen throughout history. Their novels, stories and poems are evidence of the suppression of women and blatant gender inequality.
The treatment bestowed upon women was stifling, and oppressive. Luckily for us, some female writers and poets chose to write about these conditions, giving us a sense of how these women felt and lived. Some had to initially write with male pseudonyms, or had their works rejected several times for them to only be published or recognised posthumously.
Angelou’s poetry and writing addresses important socio-political subjects and issues, as well as positive portrayals of the Black community and female empowerment. She used her art to champion others and challenge inequality., as it resonates on a multitude of levels. This is one of her best-known poems and was used by Nelson Mandela in his presidential inauguration speech.
Urdu writer, poet, and feminist Fahmida Riaz at the Jaipur Literature Festival on January 27, 2013 in Jaipur, India. The main draw for me in Leila’s books is her unabashed Muslimness, and the role that Islam plays in her stories. She tells the stories of normal people, who just happen to be Muslim. Their faith is a part of them and is woven in nicely into the narrative of her stories.Alice Walker