The world is awakening to gender stereotypes and their stifling impact on people’s minds, and we definitely could do with reading some feminist writers across the world. Here’s a list of 10 such famous feminist writers who will definitely make you think with their sharp commentary, witty takes, and heartbreaking anecdotes.
Famous Feminist Writers Who Paved the Way for the Modern Woman
Alice Walker
An American famous feminist writer and activist, Walker won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel, ‘The Colour Purple’. Her commentary on the lives of black women in America especially drew attention, and the poignant details struck the right chord amongst readers and critics. She is known for fearlessly bringing forth the issues of race and gender and the prejudices and oppression that come with them.
Her extraordinary voice and unique, compelling narration make it easier for readers to engage with and even resonate with characters like Celie and her ordeals. Her work nudges people to think and is a remarkable addition to American literature.
Arundhati Roy
A fierce voice of the twenty-first century, Arundhati Roy is a Booker Prize-winning novelist, an essayist, and an activist. With her effortless writing, she would take you to the far south, to the characters of ‘The God of Small Things’ and their lives, or up north to Anjum. Her novels explore themes of love, loss, social hierarchies, biases, geopolitical events, and more.
Although her activism and the subsequent writings against social injustice in different parts of the country, the subjugation of Dalits, human rights violations, communal hatred, and gender-based violence, have exposed her to much hate, she continues to be a testament to the power of written words and storytelling.
Caroline Criado-Perez
Famous feminist writer, British author, activist, and journalist, Perez is known for her feminist books, particularly “Invisible Women,” published in 2019. This historic work explores the gender data gap and how male-centric data collection has made the world a place more suited to cater to men’s needs.
She has worked on campaigns demanding more women in the media, the non-removal of the only woman other than the Queen from England’s banknotes, and much more. The empirical evidence in her book is indeed an eye-opener. So, if you want to read a book that will change your life, you know which one now!
Ismat Chughtai
Let us travel back in time to 20th-century India. Ismat Chughtai’s stories were ahead of their time and consistently challenged heteronormativity, femininity, and beyond. Her work circled female sexuality, class conflicts, and nuances in the lives of middle-class people, while some of these were considered taboo and some outrageous, causing her to face backlashes and lawsuits. ‘Lihaaf’ remains one of her most popular short stories. If you are a fan of Hindi-Urdu literature, you are going to fall in love with her work.
Margaret Atwood
Spanning genres, Atwood’s storytelling has engaged readers for more than five decades. This famous feminist writer’s stories often revolve around gender, religion, myth, and dystopia—one of the most well-known of these being “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a story set in a dystopian autocratic society where women are being forced into sexual servitude and childbirth. She is also an essayist and a poet, and she has won a number of awards. The world of literature would be incomplete without her fierce contribution.\
Roxane Gay
Roxane Gay, a writer, cultural critic, and editor, is one of the most renowned voices in modern feminism. Her book “Bad Feminist” explores the current wave of feminism, its representation in pop culture, and its relationship to race and class; the witty, engaging narration makes it super relatable.
She has also widely written on body image issues and trauma, highlighting the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. As an activist, she uses her platforms to shed light on social injustice and to challenge dominant cultural narratives.
Taslima Nasrin
A Bangladeshi-Swedish writer, physician, and activist, Nasrin is known for her bold takes on misogyny, religion, femininity, and much more. Her memoir “Amar Meyebela,” or “My Girlhood,” and her novel “Lajja” are two of the most popular works. The latter faced backlash from Islamic extremist groups, accusing her of maligning religion.
Despite multiple fatwas, protests, death threats, and her eventual banishment from her home country and the Bengal region of India, she continues to voice her opinions. This famous feminist writer’s fierce portrayal of communalism, misogyny within religion, and life as a woman would be a remarkable addition to the rich legacy of Bengali literature.
Tehmina Durrani
Tehmina Durrani is an author and children’s and women’s rights activist from Pakistan. Her book “My Feudal Lord” is a vivid description of her abusive marriage to a prominent figure in Pakistani politics. “Blasphemy,” her novel, goes on to further explore the topics of patriarchy, domestic violence, and misogyny within religious extremism.
Her unflinching descriptions of women’s struggles and her bold and sharp social commentary make her one of the most fierce and important feminist voices of the time. Her works are beyond poignant—you think it’s Dystopis until you realise it isn’t.
Urvashi Butalia
Being a co-founder of India’s first feminist publishing house, Kali for Women. Her work around gender-based violence and the women’s movement in India is quite groundbreaking. In one of her most renowned books, “The Other Side of Silence,” Butalia highlights the struggles of women during partition. A combination of oral history, strong empirical data, and archived documents—this is one of the greatest contributions to the feminist history of South Asia.
With harrowing tales of partition and what it means to be a woman during wartime, Butalia highlights the ordeals, the trauma, and the strength and courage that women possessed during one of the largest mass migrations in history.
Yashica Dutt
Caste and gender prejudices are not new phenomena in our society. Dutt, a journalist, feminist writer, and activist, scratches beneath the surface and offers a vivid description of these. In her Sahitya Academy Yuva Puraskar-winning book ‘Coming Out As Dalit’, she talks about growing up as a member of a subjugated caste and thus having to hide her identity to “excel”.
Her book is a window to the other side, of Dalit women being subjected to humiliation, oppression, sexual violence, and much more in a caste-biased and misogynistic society. Filled with often heartbreaking anecdotes, her works are powerful enough to prompt you to see things differently.
From their words to their actions, these famous feminist writers showed that strength isn’t loud; it’s consistent, kind, and unstoppable. May their legacy continue to ignite new voices and movements around the world.
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