The book that has inspired me is…

I’m going to go for Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy. A troubling, brilliant book of the 1970s which really made me think.

The woman I most admire from history is... 

My grandmother Sylvia Pankhurst.  She was ahead of her time in so many ways, not just as a leading suffragette and women’s rights campaigner but also as one aware of and finding ways of addressing the day to day problems of the poorest and most vulnerable women in society – so combining the fight for the vote with opening up facilities such as crèches, cost-based restaurant, legal aid etc. She became a leading socialist thinking of her day, yet one who was not swept away blindly but critical of the direction of state socialism in Soviet Russia. She was a pacifist in the first world war yet sympathetic to Home Rule in Ireland and early in raising concerns about the rise of fascism in Italy. She was the first to employ a black journalist, engaged in the Pan-African movement and fought for Ethiopian independence and awareness raising of its rich culture. She campaigned tirelessly and on the right side of history on numerous issues, taking on the causes of others not just her own.

The woman I most admire today is…

Choosing a single person today is very difficult because I meet so many amazing people, particularly wonderful young feminist.  If I am forced to choose a single person, I will go for for Faiza Vaid. She is the Chief Executive of Muslim Women’s Network UK, an organisation combining support to Muslim women with dealing with the prejudices against Islam in Britain and sexism in all cultures. Faiza is strategic, thoughtful and just impressive all round!

The women’s issue I am most concerned about today is…

I have written a whole book Deeds Not Words, which looks at the issue of how far we have come over the last century and how much we still need to do. Fundamentally, for me, it’s about changing social norms – all of us being more active in challenging rather than quietly ignoring or actively perpetuating discrimination. This needs to happen in all spheres but the issue of violence against women is the one that stands out.  The figures around abuse and harassment speak for themselves. This has to change.

I hope the next generation of women will be free…

Of stereotypes, that their dreams and aspirations will be to unbounded, and that their day to day lives will combine fun and purpose.