Gloria Steinem, who became one of the leading figures of the women’s liberation movement in the United States, has died aged 92.
Her foundation said in an Instagram post that she “passed away peacefully” at her home in New York City on Wednesday, surrounded by people who loved her.
A writer and magazine editor, Steinem co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance, an organisation dedicated to challenging sexism, more than five decades ago.
She began her career as a journalist in New York before co-founding Ms. magazine in 1972, one of the first publications to focus extensively on women’s issues beyond traditional subjects such as housekeeping and beauty.
Campaigning for reproductive rights
During the 1970s, Steinem became a prominent campaigner for women’s reproductive rights, alongside a range of other causes.
She obtained an illegal abortion in London when she was 22. Years later, she welcomed the US Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, which established a constitutional right to abortion.
Steinem lived to see the landmark ruling overturned nearly half a century later.
She also campaigned for the legalisation of same-sex marriage, equal rights and pay for women, and opposed the death penalty and female genital mutilation.
From journalism to activism
Born on 25 March 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem had a difficult childhood and did not attend school full-time until she was 12.
After graduating from university in the late 1950s, she travelled to India on a research scholarship. During her two years there, she took on various roles, including helping village women organise non-violent protests against government policies.
The experience helped spark her interest in grassroots activism.
Steinem moved to New York City in the early 1960s and began working as a freelance writer. Her breakthrough came with an investigative article examining the working conditions of Playboy Bunnies.
She later became a columnist for New York Magazine before co-founding Ms. magazine in 1972.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Steinem famously chose not to marry until 2000, when she married David Bale, a South African-born entrepreneur and environmentalist and the father of actor Christian Bale.
Bale died three years later from brain lymphoma.
In 2013, then-US President Barack Obama awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States.
Her foundation said she “continued working for equality until the very end”.
It described her greatest gift as her ability to listen and make people feel “seen and heard”, adding that her words, actions and example encouraged people to be their “truest selves”.
Tributes pour in
The foundation said Steinem spent her final years writing and building community, welcoming guests to her home for “Talking Circles”, a tradition that will continue.
Her plans for her home to become a centre for social justice movements, along with her forthcoming book An Unexpected Life, were described by the foundation as among the gifts she left for future generations.
Tributes followed the news of her death on Thursday, with writers and feminists expressing gratitude and describing the impact she had on their lives.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Steinem as “one of the architects” of women’s equality.
“Gloria was at heart an optimist,” Clinton said during CBS Mornings on Thursday.
“Her activism was rooted in optimism, and that’s a moral choice, and she made it every day.”
Also read: Dolly Parton legacy: A lifetime spent giving back
For more videos and updates, check out our YouTube channel
