“We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free.” ~ Kavita Ramdas
From a young age, women are programmed to believe they need to play a very limited role and stay in this box that was created for them – and never dare to think, feel or try to live outside this box. Because if they do, they will make a lot of people unhappy. And you see, it’s ‘a woman’s job to make sure everybody is happy‘. But this, of course, is a toxic and dangerous way of thinking, not only for women, but for men and humanity as a whole.
If a woman is not fully in her power… If her gentleness, femininity and gifts are suppressed, there can be no balance, no peace and no harmony in the world. And who wants that?
40 Powerful Quotes to Help Women Regain Their Voice, Courage and True Power
1. “Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.” ~ Maya Angelou
2. “I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” ~ Mary Shelley
3. “We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free.” ~ Kavita Ramdas
4. “Women were never meant to be better than men. They were only meant to become the perfect embodiment of womanhood. What does that really mean? Well, this is something every woman has to discover for herself.” ~ Luminita D. Saviuc
5. “What is feminism? Simply the belief that women should be as free as men, however nuts, dim, deluded, badly dressed, fat, receding, lazy and smug they might be. Are you a feminist? Of course, you are.” ~ Caitlin Moran
6. “You don’t have to be pretty. You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don’t owe it to your mother, you don’t owe it to your children, you don’t owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked ‘female.'” ~ Erin McKean
7. “The only thing required to be a woman is to identify as one.” ~ Amanda Lovelace
8. “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” ~ Maya Angelou
“9. Well-behaved women seldom make history.” ~ Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
10. “The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.” ~ Albert Einstein
11. “Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.” ~ Margaret Thatcher
12. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” ~ Ayn Rand
13. “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” ~ Madeleine Albright
14. “I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” ~ Emma Stone
14. “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” ~ Malala Yousafzai
15. “I am not ashamed to dress ‘like a woman’ because I don’t think it’s shameful to be a woman.” ~ Iggy Pop
16. “Feminism is not dead, by no means. It has evolved. If you don’t like the term, change it for Goddess’ sake. Call it Aphrodite, or Venus, or bimbo, or whatever you want; the name doesn’t matter, as long as we understand what it is about, and we support it.” ~ Isabel Allende
17. “Of course I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.” ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
18. “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” ~ Nora Ephron
19. “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” ~ Margaret Thatcher
20. “My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant to be your own person, be independent.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg
21. “We need to encourage girls that their voice matters. I think there are hundreds and thousands of Malalas out there.” ~ Malala Yousafzai
22. “My coach said I run like a girl. And I said if he ran a little faster, he could too.” ~ Mia Hamm
23. “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” ~ Margaret Atwood
24. “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” ~ Marie Shear
25. “Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” ~ Emma Watson
26. “I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” ~ Jane Austen
27. “Women have to harness their power—it’s absolutely true. It’s just learning not to take the first ‘no’. And if you can’t go straight ahead, you go around the corner.” ~ Cher
28. “A woman is like a tea bag—you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
29. “If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” ~ Maya Angelou
30. “A girl should be two things: Who and what she wants.” ~ Coco Chanel
31. “When I’m tired, I rest. I say, ‘I can’t be a superwoman today.’” ~ Jada Pinkett Smith
32. “Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men.” ~ Katherine Johnson
33. “I think the best role models for women are people who are fruitfully and confidently themselves, who bring light into the world.” ~ Meryl Streep
34. “The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.” ~ Serena Williams
35. “Women, whether subtly or vociferously, have always been a tremendous power in the destiny of the world.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
36. “Women should do for themselves what men have already done—occasionally what men have not done—thereby establishing themselves as persons, and perhaps encouraging other women toward greater independence of thought and action.” ~ Amelia Earhart
37. “Tremendous amounts of talent are being lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.” ~ Shirley Chisholm
38. “I raise up my voice—not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard… We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.” ~ Malala Yousafzai
39. “I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.” ~ Serena Williams
40. “Think like a queen. A queen if not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” ~ Oprah Winfrey