Women's Day 2025: Celebrating our favourite female literary protagonists

Lead the way like OkoyeOkoye is a brave warrior and leader of the Dora Milaje a group of female guards who protect the kingdom of Wakanda She proudly wears her red uniform and carries her hidden spear with ease in her tunic Okoye trains in many forms of combat and speaks Hausa a rarelyspoken African language in the kingdom with the king to maintain privacy of information Her loyalty and her determination to stand up against injustice often stand facetoface with each other throwing her into complex predicamentsRead Okoye To the People by Ibi ZoboiSolve mysteries like Miss MarpleJoan Hickson as Miss Marple in the eponymous TV series Pics CouresyYoutube Wikimedia CommonsCreated by lsquoBritainrsquos Queen of Crimersquo Miss Marple of St Mary Mead an English town is sharp quickwitted unassuming and one of the earliest whitehaired female detectives in literature She calls herself an ldquoordinary scatty old ladyrdquo which she believes makes for an easy camouflage among people She is never idle you can find her knitting gardening indulging in a gossip or two or finding clues in the most mundane conversations Marple is visibly distinguishable from Poirot as a detective both in her nature and her approach to solving crimes She can sense evil where one least expects it and prefers to rely on her own experiences than logicRead A Murder is Announced by Agatha ChristieDare to dream like Jo MarchSaoirse Ronan as Jo March in the bookrsquos 2019 film adaptationMarch sisters are endearing and loving in their own gentle ways but one stands out most Josephine March dares to dream beyond what the world promises her She can be found spinning stories which are often enacted by the sisters in their room Freedom is key to her unable to achieve it fully she sends her manuscript under a shorter name Jo which conceals her gender For women who have had to negotiate spaces for themselves or have fought hard to gain employment respect or acknowledgement in jobs dominated by men Jo offers a shivering mirror of recognitionRead Little Women by Louisa May AlcottTake risks like AmmuAmmu Ipe is the mother of the twins Rahel and Esthappen She leaves her home and ends up marrying Babu at the young age of 18 After recognising his abusive behaviour she leaves him behind returns to Ayemenem her hometown in Kerala and falls in love with Velutha a man from the oppressed caste causing something of a scandal in the town Ammursquos brazenness lends her ldquoan air of unpredictabilityrdquo much of which comes from her childhood experiences living with her abrasive father Pappachi she is unlike most mothers written in early Indian fiction Yet like all mothers she loves her children deeply Read The God of Small Things by Arundhati RoySing your heart out like Saeeda BaiTabu as Saeeda BaiSaeeda Bai is a musician a courtesan whom one of the leading young characters Maan is drawn towards Saeeda is surprised to find out that she too has fallen for him but believes that nothing can stand in the way of her work and standing Although not the protagonist of the narrative Saeeda is an important figure in Indian literature who bridges religious sentiments She reminds readers of artistes like Begum Akhtar who were some of the earliest female writers and lyricists skilled in various genres of Hindustani classical music like thumris and ghazals but often misunderstoodRead A Suitable Boy by Vikram SethAvailable At leading bookstores and estoresTake tough decisions like SetheDriven by injustice Sethe kills her children Being a runaway slave she feels they should not have to bear the terror and pain of slavery Morrison revealed in a PBS interview that the character was inspired by a news piece This compels readers to think of her ferocity in a new lightRead Beloved by Toni MorrisonBe adventurous like MatildaMatilda enjoys a dessertMatilda Wormwood a bright child with telekinetic powers is mistreated by her parents and finds comfort in her teacher Miss Honey Witnessing how children in her school are being treated she decides to save them from the bully Principal Trunchbull Matilda reads makes her own pancakes is quick at calculations and loves innocent pranks Her humility is her strength and her superpowers donrsquot take that away from herRead Matilda by Roald Dahl