“Mother had a bad heart for many years. We have therefore talked a lot about life ending at some point. For us in the family, it was clear that mother’s experience was that she lived a long, exciting and meaningful life,” the family writes to TT.
Birgitta Dahl spent most of her life in politics as, among other things, Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister of Industry, Minister of the Environment and Energy, Minister of the Environment and Speaker of the Riksdag.
During his political career, Dahl was involved in and pushed through several equality reforms, such as daycare for all, universal parental insurance, bans on child molestation and rape within marriage.
– Right up until 1965, the woman was considered the man’s property and with those reforms I was told that society should not interfere in how families live their lives, says Birgitta Dahl in SVT’s documentary about her life “Birgitta Dahl’s holy wrath” which was released in 2021.
Magdalena Andersson: “An important role model”
In a statement to TT, Social Democrats party leader Magdalena Andersson says that Birgitta Dahl has been an important role model both for her personally and for many others.
– It is with sadness that I heard that Birgitta Dahl has passed away. She was a forerunner. A respected and courageous politician, who was central to Sweden’s active stance on climate and environmental issues, and pushed through decisions that improved the lives of all women in Sweden, she says.
– Through her work and her person, Birgitta Dahl was an important role model for me personally, as well as for many others. My thoughts are now with her family.
Questioned injustice as a child
Birgitta Dahl was born in 1937 in Gothenburg and then grew up in Storvik, Västerås and Vallentuna.
In the documentary, Dahl tells that she already questioned injustice as a child and how she was bullied by a teacher after she took her place in the classroom.
– I remember how I experienced injustice as a little girl. I reacted to it after seeing how grown women were treated, says Dahl.
In the 1950s, Dahl moved to Uppsala to study Nordic languages, history and political science.
In 1969, Dahl entered politics as a Member of Parliament, and in the documentary about her life, she talks about the price she had to pay.
– I have had hate campaigns directed at me of the worst kind imaginable.