“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.”
Charlotte Brontë in 'Jane Eyre' 

“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
Jane Austen

“When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent. We are still afraid. So it is better to speak.”
Audre Lorde

“I do not see myself as a footnote to someone else’s life.”
Martha Gellhorn

“You can do some rather extraordinary things if that’s what you really believe.”
Toni Morrison

“I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else's ignorance.”
bell hooks

“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
Mary Shelley

“Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.”
Mary Wollstonecraft

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
Arundhati Roy

“I am a Woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal Woman, that’s me.”
Maya Angelou

“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”
Michelle Obama

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”
Malala Yousafzai

“I am the sole author of the dictionary that defines me.”
Zadie Smith

“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