By Puteri Othman
In recent years, the word “women” might conjure an image of weakness in people’s mind. However, in reality it is definitely contrary to how it is assumed to be.
Many women nowadays manage to hold positions that are at par with men. You can see women starting to become Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Co-founder of a company, and that is a really impressive thing to witness.
For me, a great woman is not only responsible in raising the next generation, but also to empower other women to achieve great things in life.
A moment ago, I came across an article written for women’s history month, and I must admit that I was truly inspired by all these great women both in the past and present.
In conjunction of the International Women’s Day today, here are the top eight women who inspired other women to make changes in the world.
Billie Jean King (1943)
Billie Jean King, the US tennis legend and the winner of 39 Grand Slam titles; 12 singles, 16 women’s double, and 11 mixed double titles. At age 29, she is famously known for beating Bobby Riggs in tennis during 1973 for a $100,000 prize in “The Battle of the sexes” after he said to her that men were superior athletes. She was also the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association, World Team Tennis, as well as Women’s Sports Foundation.
Princess Diana (1961)
Princess Diana is also known as Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Chester, and Baroness of Renfres, was a well-loved “people’s princess”. She was cherished for devoting her life to charity work and also support the International Campaign to Ban Landmines where she received a nobel Peace Prize. She was also the president of Great Ormond Street Hospital for children.
Michelle Obama (1964)
Michelle Obama, the first African-American lady of the United States is an American lawyer and a writer. She was raised in a one-bedroom apartment in Chicago before she went on to excel in academics and study at Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She is considered the most stylish leading lady after Jackie Kennedy.
Oprah Winfrey (1954)
Oprah was born to a poor single mother in Mississippi. She landed with a job in radio while still in high school and began co-anchoring the local evening news. She was then transfered to a daytime talk show. She is a generous Philanthropist, and she is known as the most influential woman in the world. She is dubbed the Queen of All Media and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barrack Obama. She received an honorary doctorate degree from Duke and Harvard.
Amelia Earhart (1897)
Amelia Earhart was the first woman to ever fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932 and she became the first woman pilot in 1935 after flying solo from Hawaii to California. She sat many records and wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences. She also formed an organisation for female pilots called The Ninety Nine. She embarked upon her lifelong dream of flying across the world in 1937, however, her flight went missing on that trip and she was never seen again.
J.K Rowling (1965)
J.K Rowling is a pen name for Joanne “Jo” Rowling who is a British novelist, screenwriter and film producer best known as the author of Harry Potter series. She broke through the trap of poverty until she finished writing her first book for the Harry Potter series. The book is now sold for 400 million copies worldwide. Other than Harry Potter series, she also wrote four other books namely The Casual Vacancy, The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm, and the Career of Evil. She went on from living on state benefits in the UK to becoming a multi-millionaire after her book’s success in a matter of five years.
Audrey Hepburn (1929)
Audrey Hepburn is acknowledged as the world’s best known actress. Apart from her career, she put her fame into good use later in life and she became a UNICEF Ambassador. She travelled to various countries such as Ethiopia, Ecuador and Bangladesh to highlight various issues and set a great example for subsequent stars to follow.
Malala Yousafzai (1997)
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist who is famously known for fighting for female education. She is the youngest ever Nobel Prize winner. She is mainly known for human rights advocacy for education and for women in her hometown, where the Taliban banned women from getting education. Since then, her advocacy has grown into an international movement.
Last but not least is EVERY MOTHER IN THE WORLD. Without your mum, you won’t be here in this world. After reading about these legendary women, I hope you will feel inspired and find the strength to contribute to the society no matter in what field.
Remember, you have to initiate the change you wanted to see in this world. Happy International Women’s Day!***