You can call her what you like, but don’t call her a feminist

She was Britain’s first female leader, a strong woman who battled her way to the top of a male-dominated political system — but don’t call Margaret Thatcher a feminist.

The former British leader, who died on Monday aged 87, rejected the label — “I owe nothing to women’s lib,” she once said — and she leaves a contested legacy for women. For some, she was an inspiration who showed anything was possible. For others, she was an individualist who got to the top and pulled the ladder up behind her.

Meryl Streep, who won an Oscar last year for playing Thatcher in The Iron Lady, said her legacy for women was huge.