Giving Compass' Take:

• Leah Rodriguez covers the Make Equality Reality Gala honoring two feminist writers Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Scarlett Curtis for fighting gender inequality.

• What inspires you from these two women's stories? How can your words make a difference?

• Learn why feminist philanthropy is important.

Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate powerful women working to achieve gender equality around the world on Thursday. The international organization Equality Now honored Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Scarlett Curtis at the annual Make Equality Reality Gala in New York City.

“Changing laws and mindsets is only possible through persistent activism,” Equality Now Global Executive Director Yasmeen Hassan said. “Our honorees tonight, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Scarlett Curtis, use the written word to do just that.”

Adichie and Curtis discovered feminism in very different ways, but have both sparked important conversations about equality through their work. Adichie is the critically acclaimed author of five books, a MacArthur Genius Grant winner, and is even featured on Beyoncé’s hit song “Flawless.” Curtis is the author of the bestseller Feminists Don’t Wear Pink and Other Lies, and is a vocal activist across feminist issues from period poverty to female genital mutilation (FGM).

Adichie picked up on the inequities women face while growing up in Nigeria. “There’s a culture [in Nigeria] where women don't want to talk about rape [and] institutional barriers where you have law enforcement, which doesn’t really think it's a crime. We need leadership that tells them that it's a real crime, and also I think, really, we need leadership that supports cultural movements that aim to change people’s minds to broaden our idea of what humanity should be.”

Curtis opened up on stage about how she almost took her life five years ago at the age of 19. Spontaneously attending a feminist resistance meeting in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood gave her a reason to keep going, she said. “I found this thing called feminism,” Curtis said. “And while I was no longer that interested in staying alive anymore, I became interested in sticking around for the sole purpose of joining the movement."

Read the full article about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie & Scarlett Curtis were honored for fighting Gender Inequality by Leah Rodriguez at Global Citizen.