Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Sweden has distributed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's feminist manifesto, "We Should All Be Feminists," to every 16-year-old student in the country.


The Swedish Women's Lobby partnered with other groups to launch the initiative on Dec. 1, in the hopes of 

 in the world.
"This is the book that I wish all of my male classmates would have read when I was 16," Clara Berglund, president of the Swedish Women's Lobby, 

. "It feels so important to contribute to this project. It is a gift to all second-grade high-school students, but it is also a gift to ourselves and future generations."


The give-away was wholly uncontroversial in Sweden.


"Gender equality is one of the cornerstones of Swedish society," Sweden's 

 says. In a country where "gender mainstreaming" is a key governmental strategy to ensuring equality, 12 of 24 government ministers are currently women, and the law mandates that both parents get 480 days of parental leave, the distribution of a feminist pamphlet barely registered on Swedes' radar. (In fact, several of my Swedish friends, one a journalist, didn't even know about the project.)
To the extent that it was noticed, the initiative was met with praise. Although, one Swedish columnist offered mild criticism, writing that Swedish high school students, reared with the ideals of feminism, may find the 

.
Adiche, who is from Nigeria and lives in the U.S., based the essay on her 

 which has been viewed more than 2 million times. Even Beyonce incorporated part of the speech into 

A previous version of this story gave an incorrect title for Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's essay. The title is "We Should All Be Feminists," not "How To Be a Feminist."

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Swedish Women's Lobby has distributed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's feminist manifesto, hoping to spark dialogue about feminism in one of the most gender-equal countries in the world.

Sweden gives 'We Should All Be Feminists' to every 16-year-old student

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox