1. Fatema Mernissi: (1940- November 30, 2015)

She was a Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist. Most of her work focused women in Islam as well as Moroccan society and culture. As a feminist, her main goal was to empower Muslim women from all over the world and challenge the political systems that oppress them. “When a woman thinks she is nothing, the little sparrows cry. Who can defend them on the terrace , if no one has the vision of a world without slingshots?”

2. Begum Rokeya: (December 9, 1880- December 9, 1932)

She was a Bengali writer, educationist, social reformer. Despite her growing up in a society where women were often isolated, she managed to open a school for girl and write many books with the help of her brother and husband. Also, when Rokeya was 15, her younger sister was forced into a child marriage which also inspired Rokeya to stand up for women all over the nation. In one of her essays she wrote “Had society not been so suppressive, Karimunessa would have been a bright gem of this country, as the glow of an electric bulb is dimmed by a thick cover, so the lady described by me could not show her gifts due to the covers of purdah”.

3. Huda Sha'arawi: June 23, 1879 – December 12, 1947

She was an Egyptian feminist leader and also founded the Egyptian Feminist Union in 1923. She grew up in a Harem system which basically separated men from women and also kept the women isolated and covered at all times. She was however very educated and spoke a total of three languages including Arabic, Turkish, and French. When she was 13 she was forced to marry her cousin but later separated from him. With her new found independence, she decided to extend her education and help empower other women in her society by opening schools and organizations for poor women and children. "Men have singled out women of outstanding merit and put them on a pedestal to avoid recognizing the capabilities of all women."

4. Shamima Shaikh: (14 September 1960 - 8 January 1998)

She was a well-known South African feminist and journalist. She became involved in social justice after she studied Psychology at the University of Durban-Westvill. She later became involved in the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO) which fought againt apartheid in South Africa. She later collaborated with the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa (MYMSA), an organisation that helped Muslim community by providing educational opportunities and fought against racial gender and religious inequality.

5. Amina Wadud: (September 25, 1952- Present)

She is an American scholer of Islam. She was born as Mary Teasley but then converted into Islam in 1972 and later changed her name to Amina Wadud. She also recieved a Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Michigan in 1988. Wadud has also stated her interpretation of the Qur'an and challenged the idea of patriarchy in it. In 1994 she delivered a Friday Khutbah (prayer) in Cape Town, a move that is seen as extremely controversial as well as empowering to women.