10 inspirational women authors you should definitely read

For eons, women have been confined and restricted to their homes and their households, neglected and prevented from thriving into the public domain. However, there have always been exceptional and extraordinary women, who have risen above the restraints of patriarchy and brought about a revolutionary stir in every aspect of life.

In the world of literature, female authors have made major contributions in raising significant questions and bringing about a change in the society. Although history cannot be altered, they can always be rewritten through literature and so is proved through the inspiring writings by women authors.

Here are 10 inspiring female writers you should definitely read.

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic and an essayist, who is most famously known for her book ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. The book is supposedly a dystopian novel exploring themes surrounding subjugated women in a patriarchal society, but also very relevant to our times. The sequel to the book “The Testament” released in 2019, causing another stir amongst the readers. Margaret Atwood, through her books, has raised an alarm towards the injustices faced by woman and that could go on to scar humanity.

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Maya Angelou was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. As a young adult, she worked as a streetcar driver, a performer, a sex worker and also a journalist at Ghana, all of which contributed to the narratives she went on to build in her works, either in the form of autobiographies, essays or poems. She is best known for her first biography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, which portrays her life up until the age of 17. Inspiring many, Maya Angelou not only depicts the hardships and struggles faced by women but also teaches how one can overcome them.

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer, well known for her novels, short stories and non-fiction. Adichie has received many awards and critical acclaims for her brilliant writings on civil war, race, political issues, immigration crisis, cultural differences and love. Adichie’s novel “Americanah”, published in 2013, is a story about a girl’s journey from her home in Nigeria to The United States of America. The book narrates the experiences of a young girl, struggling with her identity and the will to survive.

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Arundhati Roy is an Indian author, a political activist involved in human rights and environmental causes, most-renowned for her book “The God of Small Things”, which published in 1997. The book, as the title reads, focuses on the small things in life that have major effects on the lives of the people. "The God of Small Things" was Roy's first book and the only novel until the 2017 publication of "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness" twenty years later, which was also admirably received by the readers.

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Jhumpa Lahiri is a Pulitzer prize-winning novelist, known for her short stories, novels and essays. She started her writing expedition with the collection of short stories “The Interpreter of Maladies”, published in 1999, followed by three books "The Namesake", "Unaccustomed Earth" and "The Lowland", all of which won major acclaims and appriciations from its readers.

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Zadie Smith is an English novelist essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, “White Teeth” immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. Her book touches upon the themes of war and colonization that not only had a traumatic story to tell but also thrives on the memories made during this time.

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Another Pulitzer-Prize winner, Toni Morrison is an American author, best known for her novel “Beloved”, that was later adapted into a film starring Oprah Winfrey. The book revolves around the struggles of African-American people, who have been accustomed to the abuse of slavery for centuries. Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” was her debut novel, which caught the eye of many readers and won a lot of appreciation.

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Nadine Gordimer was a South African writer, political activist and recipient of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature. “My Son’s Story” was Gordimer’s ninth story, published in 1990. The very next year she won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The book revolves around the themes of political struggles and apartheid. Her writings majorly deals with moral and racial issues, particularly apartheid in South Africa.

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Susan Sontag was an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, teacher, and political activist. Her best-known works include “On Photography”, “Against Interpretation”, “Styles of Radical Will”, “The Way We Live Now”, “Illness as Metaphor”, “Regarding the Pain of Others”, “The Volcano Lover”, and “In America”. Breaking all gender stereotypes and roles, Sontag went on to become one of the most successful person in the field of literature and filmmaking.

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Taslima Nasreen is a Bangladeshi-Swedish writer, physician, feminist, secular humanist and human rights activist. Some of her most popular books include, “Lajja”(Shame), “French Lover” and “Revenge”, all of which centres around the themes of women oppression and criticism of religion. Her most recent book “My Girlhood” will release in March, 2020, which is set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

Photo Credit: India Hamish Hamilton