25 Bella Abzug Quotes from the Inspirational Leader

By Stephanie Kirby | Published July 1, 2023

Learn about this fearless woman leader and formidable politician with these Bella Abzug quotes.

Bella Abzug was an influential Congresswoman and social activist that fought for women’s rights in the 1970s.

Bella Savitzky Abzug was born in New York City in 1920 and died in New York City in 1998.

Bella got the nickname “Battling Bella” for her tendency to battle for issues that mattered to her, such as women’s and civil rights.

In 1970 Bella won a seat for the Democratic party as a member of the House of Representatives for the district on Manhattan’s West Side.

She continued to be a member of the House until 1976 when she lost her nomination to Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Bella was a hard battler that would often berate her staff and would fight hard for the things she believed in.

Her tough ways led the U.S. News & World Report to vote for her as the 3rd most influential member of the House in 1974.

Read these Bella Abzug Quotes to learn more about this influential leader.

Best Bella Abzug Quotes

Here are some short and memorable quotes from Bella Abzug.

1. “I’m a politician. I run for office. That’s my profession.” — Bella Abzug

2. “The establishment is made up of little men, very frightened.” — Bella Abzug

3. “We are coming down from our pedestal and up from the laundry room.” — Bella Abzug

4. “Working women wore hats. It was the only way they would take you seriously.” — Bella Abzug

5. “Women have been trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick. Those days are over.” — Bella Abzug

6. “Women will change the nature of power, rather than power changing the nature of women.” — Bella Abzug

7. “I prefer the word ‘homemaker’ because ‘housewife’ always implies that there may be a wife someplace else.” — Bella Abzug

8. “I’ve spent a lifetime in challenge. There’s no way in which you can create any meaningful change unless you do that.” — Bella Abzug

9. “We are affirming human rights for all women and girls, acknowledging the full range of diversity that exists, and detailing actions to prevent violence.” — Bella Abzug

10. “Our struggle was political, ideological, and economic, and we felt we couldn’t make something of ourselves unless we bettered society. We saw the two together.” — Bella Abzug

Bella Abzug Quotes on Her Beliefs

Read the following quotes to see if you agree with Bella’s views.

11. “Women are not inherently passive or peaceful. We’re not inherently anything but human.” — Bella Abzug

12. “Women have been and are prejudiced, narrow-minded, reactionary, even violent. Some women. But the battle for women’s rights has been largely a battle for freedom from those qualities.” — Bella Abzug

13. “The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.” — Bella Abzug

14. “In the 21st century, the century our children will live in, the century that will see the end of capitalism, we must advance socialist principles.” — Bella Abzug

15. “As women, we know that we must always find ways to change the process because the present institutions want to hold on to power and keep the status quo.” — Bella Abzug

16. “We are still struggling with the old problems—of conquest, of war, of famine, of inequity. But we are also building new bridges to the tomorrows that we know are achievable if we will just keep on keeping on.” — Bella Abzug

17. “Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel.” — Bella Abzug

Bella Abzug Quotes About Politics

The Congresswoman has many quotes that share her thoughts and opinions on politics and her work in the area, like the ones below.

18. “A woman’s place is in the house—the House of Representatives.” — Bella Abzug

19. “The law cannot be regarded as an instrument to provide justice if it denies justice in its own conduct.” — Bella Abzug

20. “I spend all day figuring out how to beat the machine and knock the crap out of the political power structure.” — Bella Abzug

21. “They, of course, have a right to vote and a right to run for office. I will defend that right, but I will not support them or vote for them.” — Bella Abzug

22. “We are all here for a purpose, and if we are not willing to take risks and to make sacrifices to fulfill that purpose, then we might as well go home.” — Bella Abzug

23. “Congress is a very unrepresentative institution. Not only from an economic class point of view but from every point of view—sex, race, age, vocation.” — Bella Abzug

24. “Politics will eventually be replaced by imagery. The politician will be only too happy to abdicate in favor of his image because the image will be much more powerful than he could ever be.” — Bella Abzug

25. “We are bringing women into politics to change the nature of politics, the vision, and the institutions. Women are not wedded to the policies of the past. We didn’t craft them. They didn’t let us.” — Bella Abzug