Women's History Month Book List

1) Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo 

2019 Booker Prize Winner, this book continues to be a team favourite! Evaristo follows 12 women's lives, spanning a century. Between them, these women's stories paint a picture of modern Britain and how our defiance, from one generation to the next, can shape a nation.   

2) Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This historical fiction tells the story of the Biafran War. Told through three unique voices, this book follows two sisters, Olanna and Kainene, and the different experiences they and their loved ones face. Adichie paints a vivid picture of life in war, and the unique impact it can have on women. But this book is also filled with hope, grit and daring resistance. 

3) Daughters of Smoke and Fire by Ava Homa

This is the first novel written and published in English by a Kurdish woman. In Daughters of Smoke and Fire, Homa follows a Kurdish family living in Iran while weaving in the history of oppression and genocide that Kurdish people have endured. 

4) Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

This is a story of two sisters with very different destinies - one sold into slavery and the other, a slave trader's wife. Gyasi tells the story of their family, across three continents and seven generations, from the Gold Coast of Ghana to plantations in Mississippi and dive bars in Harlem. 

5) It's Not About the Burqa edited by Mariam Khan

Explore this collection of bold and brave essays by Muslim women on the hijab and their wavering faith. Throughout, you'll read about love and divorce, feminism, queer identity, sex and the threats of a disapproving community and a racist country. 

6) Unbowed by Wangari Maathai

From her education to the environmental cause that has become an enduring part of her legacy, this memoir allows you to follow Wangari’s journey to becoming the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

7) Make it Happen: How to be an Activist by Amika George

Activist and founder of the #FreePeriods campaign, read George's first book, Make it Happen: How to be an Activist - a powerful reminder that all people at any age can bring about the change they want to see. 

8) Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam by Zainab Salbi

Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International, was eleven years old when her father was chosen to be Saddam Hussein's personal pilot. In her deeply personal memoir, Salbi describes tyranny as she saw it - through her eyes as a child and all the way to adulthood. 

9) The War on Women by Sue Lloyd-Roberts

In her 40-year-long career as a journalist, Sue Lloyd-Roberts met women who have experienced some of the worst forms of violence and human rights abuses. From Ireland to Argentina, India, The Gambia and many more, Lloyd-Roberts speaks to these survivors - to the bravest of women using their power to fight back. 

10) We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan

Moving between 1960s Uganda and present-day London, this novel explores racial tensions, generational divides and what it means to belong.