Famous British Women's Rights Activists

Mary Wollstonecraft was an English writer, advocate of women's rights, and philosopher. Wollstonecraft, who attracted a lot of attention for her unconventional personal relationships, is widely considered a founding feminist philosopher. Although her unorthodoxy initially attracted criticisms, her advocacy of women's equality became increasingly important during the 20th century. Modern-day feminists cite her works and her life as important influences.

Annie Besant was a British theosophist, socialist, writer, orator, educationist, women's rights activist, and philanthropist. Despite being British, Besant supported India's freedom movement and even joined the Indian National Congress. She is also credited with co-founding Banaras Hindu University. Besant also helped launch the Indian Home Rule movement to campaign for democracy in the country.

Activist Emily Davison is remembered for her relentless fight for women’s suffrage. As part of her protest, at the 1913 Epsom Derby, she went in front of King George V’s horse, to attach suffragette flags to it, and was tragically trampled to death. Some regard her as a martyr for women’s causes.

Apart from being a successful botanist, Marie Stopes was also a popular activist, known for her contribution to the feminist cause. A leading supporter of birth control, she established the UK’s first clinic for family planning. She was also known for her books Married Love and Wise Parenthood.

English actress, model, and activist, Emma Watson first gained prominence as a child artiste in the Harry Potter film series. The daughter of lawyers, she was determined to go to college despite her busy acting career and graduated from Brown University. A staunch feminist, she is actively involved with organizations that work for the betterment of women.

British playwright Caryl Churchill is best-known for works that emphasize on feminist-issues, sexual-politics and abuses of power. Most renowned works of Churchill, who also gained attention for using non-naturalistic techniques, include the farce Cloud 9 about sexual politics; the play Top Girls that deals with feminist issues; and the satirical play Serious Money that was largely written in rhyming couplets.

Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst was a British suffragette who co-founded the Women's Social and Political Union. From 1912 to 1913, Pankhurst directed the organization's militant actions from France. After the war, Christabel Pankhurst settled down in the United States of America where she served as an evangelist for the Second Coming movement.

Caroline Chisholm was an English humanitarian remembered for her work in British India where she established the Female School of Industry for the Daughters of European Soldiers which aimed at educating girls, who were taught reading, writing, nursing, cooking, and housekeeping. She also became a much-admired woman in Australia where she placed more than 11,000 people in jobs and homes.

Guyanese-British businesswoman and activist Gina Miller is the co-founder of the management firm SCM Direct. A former Labour Party member, she campaigned for transparency with regard to Brexit. She won a case challenging the UK government's authority to invoke Article 50 without an approval from the Parliament.

Sophia Duleep Singh was a British suffragette who fought for women's rights in Britain during the early 20th century. She is perhaps best remembered for her role in the Women's Tax Resistance League (WTRL). Sophia Duleep Singh also took part in other women's suffrage groups such as the Women's Social and Political Union.

Sukki Singapora scripted history as the first global burlesque performer from Singapore. Born to a British mother and an Indian father, who were both doctors, Singapora surprised everyone when she chose performing arts as a vocation. A feminist activist, too, she appeared in the Netflix series Singapore Social.

British Somali social activist and feminist icon Nimco Ali is known for her association with The Girl Generation, a campaign to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM). Being a victim of genital mutilation herself, she later established the organization Daughters of Eve and The Five Foundation to battle FGM.

Emily Davies was an English suffragist and feminist. One of the first campaigners for women's rights to university education, Davies is best remembered for co-founding Girton College, the first university in England to educate women. Emily Davies is also credited with playing an important role in the establishment of Newnham College in 1875.

Educationist, feminist, and women’s rights activist Barbara Bodichon is best remembered for co-establishing the English Woman's Journal and Girton College, Cambridge. Her works also led to the passage of the Married Women’s Property Act. She was a talented artist, too, and was known for her watercolor paintings.

Born to miniaturist D.B. Murphy, Anna Jameson initially worked as a governess. After a failed marriage, she gained fame as an art historian and critic and also became a champion for women’s rights. She wrote on a wide range of subjects, including travel, art, culture, and poetry.

British-Afghan social-activist and political-commentator Shabnam Nasimi is the founder and Executive Director of Conservative Friends of Afghanistan, a forum that aims in developing strong relationship between Afghanistan and the UK. She has made appearances on Channel 4 and Channel 5 News, BBC News and ITV News as a political commentator; and has written for Prospect and The Times among others.

British suffragist, educator, feminist and a strong supporter and promoter of higher education for women Anne Jemima Clough is best remembered as one of the founders and the first principal of Newnham College. She also inspired establishment of the North of England Council for Promoting the Higher Education of Women, and served as its secretary and later as its president.

Margery Corbett Ashby was a British politician, suffragist, internationalist, and feminist. She is credited with co-founding, along with her sister Cicely Corbett Fisher and friends, the Younger Suffragists in 1901. From 1923 to 1946, Margery Corbett Ashby was the president of an international non-governmental organization called International Alliance of Women.

Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi was an American teacher, medical physician, scientist, suffragist, and writer. The first female student to study medicine at Sorbonne, Jacobi is best remembered for campaigning for women's rights to medical education throughout her life. Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi provided scientific evidence against the popular belief that menstruation made women ill-suited to education. 

Joan Dunlop was a British activist and women's health advocate. She is best remembered for founding and serving as the first president of a non-governmental organization called International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC). Joan Dunlop played a major role in turning IWHC into a worldwide women's health organization.

Emily Shirreff was a British activist who pioneered women's education, especially access to higher education, in England. She also supported women's suffrage and was involved in the work of the Women's Education Union.