Words by Smiley Team
From experiences of violence to mental health conditions and racially-based sexism, gender equality means overcoming an enormous range of challenges. Experiences of being female imply entirely different things depending on background, age, skin colour and much more. Meanwhile, gender is increasingly understood to mean a spectrum of different things, too.
The courageous campaigners standing up in support of gender equality are a testament to the different obstacles to toppling the patriarchy. Here are just a selection of these brave and dedicated individuals.
Author Lola Olufemi is an ardent feminist and anti-capitalist who supports groups such as Sisters Uncut. Her latest book, Feminism Interupted, is a defiant call to imagine a better world where gender equality isn’t considered some kind of utopian dream, but rather a possibility within reach.
Coming from Iran, which has an extremely poor record for LGBT+ rights, Asal Abasian bravely promotes queer feminism.
As the co-founder of South Africa’s largest eco-feminist movement, the Pink Panthers, Orthalia Kunene is dedicated to creating gender equality in a country where women are the worst hit by the climate crisis.
Shot by the Taliban aged 15 while on a school bus, young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai captured international attention by defying oppressive laws that forbade girls from going to school. She went on to create the Malala Fund, which offers training and education to girls aged 14 to 18.
Since working for a trade union of women waste pickers, Neha Kagal has dedicated her life to exposing and challenging injustices faced by women. As an intersectional feminist, she strongly believes that women’s rights campaigners should consider race, class and other social differences when taking on the patriarchy.
Award-winning campaigner Nokuzola Ndwandwe has had significant victories in South Africa, getting tampon tax scrapped and achieving huge sums in public spending for tackling gender inequality.
For over half a century since Millicent Fawcett petitioned for women’s suffrage, the Fawcett Society has promoted women’s rights. Its CEO Jemima Olchawski follows in Millicent’s steps, campaigning to protect women’s welfare throughout the pandemic and upholding the rights of disadvantaged or marginalised women in particular.
Most people will have heard of Malala Yousefzai. However, not quite so many will know of Lotifa Begum, who supports the Malala Fund’s global advocacy and campaigns. But she too has dedicated many years to improving gender justice and girls’ education, devising campaigns to promote this human right.
Since 2014 Jean-Ann Ndow has dedicated her career to pursuing gender equality, especially for marginalised women. She started out at gender equality NGO Made Equal and went on to join the board of Imkaan, an organisation which tackles violence against Black and marginalised women and girls. Today, she also works at the Malala Fund.
Joyce Kallevik is the director of Wish, supporting women’s mental health across hospitals, prisons and the community.
