6 Swedish Women to Follow on Instagram | Swedish Language Blog (2024)

Internationella kvinnodagen (International Women’s Day) happened on Monday, March 8, but let’s keep women in the spotlight a bit longer, shall we? This week, I’ll highlight 6 inspiring Swedish women with Instagram accounts you’ll want to follow. Last week in the musikblogg ,I emphasized the importance of diversifying your target language content – so, here’s your chance! Meet these women who champion change, spark creativity, and push the boundaries within their fields.

I’m a millennial (if you haven’t already caught on from my blog content 😉). And while I’m an infrequent poster myself on social media, I do consume a sizeable dose of digital content, namely via Instagram. As a Swedish speaker living outside of Sweden, incorporating Swedish content into my social media feed is essential to fuel my language brain and stay current. Outlets like Dagens nyheter and Svenska dagbladet give me daily news, but for my culture fix, I turn to content from accounts like these 6 I’ve chosen to feature below!

1. Parisa Amiri, frilansjournalist och programledare, @parisaamiri

With 50K followers on Instagram, consistent TV appearances, and expertly-crafted articles in the largest Swedish publications, Parisa Amiri has a huge reach. This witty journalist and pop-culture devourer is brilliant and poignant.

In her weekly podcast with Brita Zackari, Brita & Parisa, she and Brita digest a variety of contemporary social and political topics from the recent Meghan Markle and Prince Harry interview, to the U.S. Presidential Race, even the latest episode of SNL and Swedish entertainment drama. You’ve met her in this blog before,

2. Sara Dahlström, “Fitness feministen” @fitnessfeministen

Sara Dahlström is a kettle-bell-wielding feminist and personal trainer on a mission to prove that you can, in fact, be “overweight” and a fitness junkie at the same time. She’s used her platform to share the story of how a brain tumor left her with a hormone imbalance that in turn, drastically affected her body weight. From there she was inspired to break stigmas and love herself; inviting others to join her in the journey. From Sara’s blog:

“[…]målet är att sprida träningsglädje och självkärlek (och att krossa patriarkatet såklart).”
[…] The goal is to spread the joy of exercise and self love (and to smash the patriarchy of course).”

Check out Sara’s Instagram for healthy doses of body positivity, training tips, personal reflections, and cool jumps in the lake!

3. Kvinnliga äventyrare, @kvinnligaaventyrare

This initiative was started by Morakniv to celebrate women who thrive in the great outdoors. Featuring picturesque photos submitted by women adventurers all across the Nordic countries, this account always elevates the typical Swedish outdoorsy activities like foraging, camping, hiking, and paddling.

“Syftet är att lyfta kvinnliga äventyrare och framför allt att inspirera och peppa kvinnor att upptäcka natur och friluftsliv. Helt enkelt att få alla att hitta sitt alldeles egna äventyr.

Our purpose is to lift up female adventurers and above all to inspire and get women excited to discover nature and outdoor life. Simply, to make everyone find their very own adventure.”

4. Molly Sjöstam, slöjdare @slojdarmolly

She’s a talented artist, with a great sense of humor who loves fika.Molly Sjöstam practices slöjd, the Swedish word for handcraft. More specifically, she’s a practitioner of träslöjd, handcraft made using wooden material. Molly harvests her own material and uses hand tools to sculpt beautiful, useful items like cooking and eating utensils, wooden containers and bowls. I’m a slöjdare myself, so I look to Molly for design inspiration, dreamy woodcarving, and endlesss fika musings.

When Molly is not in the workshop, you can find her re-vamping her VW-bus named Ilva-Greth!

5. Alice Bah Kunke, europaparlamentariker

@alicebahkuhnke

This former Culture Minister is now serving in the European Parliament for Sweden’s Green Party. Alice Bah Kunke is my go-to resource for what’s current in policymaking in Sweden and the European Parliament. Besides the environment, some of her passions include closing the pay gap, racial justice, and most recently, she’s recently been involved in Poland’s fight for reproductive rights.

Heja, Alice!

6. Greta Thunberg, klimataktivist @gretathunberg

When Greta Thunberg first painted the words “Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for the climate),” in protest back in May of 2018, the world didn’t know what was coming. It’s been nothing short of incredible to watch Greta go from quietly protesting alone outside the Swedish parliament to inspiring millions and becoming an international fixture in the fight to protect our climate.

Although Greta is half my age, I gain a lot by watching her courage and conviction. She inspires over 10.5 million people all across the globe on her Instagram feed…and still manages to write in Swedish occasionally, too!

Which Swedish IG accounts do you follow? Tell me in the comments below! 👇🏼