Women are more than just a word; they make up 49.58 percent of the world’s population that struggles to get what they deserve. From financial equality to suffrage or even equal respect in households, everything is hard earned and has a tale of its own.
Interestingly, plenty of these tales are not even known, therefore, women who made a difference and stood against evil in the society remain unsung.
Here is a short tale of the 5 most influential women in history, the ones who are remembered for being the rule-breakers.
Rosa Parks (1913-2005)
An African American woman who challenged race segregation and refused to bow down in front of race superiority. She refused to give her seat on a bus so that a white person could sit on it. Hence, this one act of hers marks the beginning of the struggle against racism. Her protests were supported by many African Americans and it later sparked the civil rights movement and by the 1960s they had won equal rights.
Rosalind Franklin (1920-58)
Back in a time when women were not allowed to voice their opinions, a young girl aspired to be a scientist. Despite her father’s protests, she followed her dream and received her doctorate in chemistry. She led a research team to study the structure of DNA and came up with the famous photo 51, an X-ray picture showing a dark cross of dots. This evidence in turn facilitated James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins to determine the structure of DNA.
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
A prominent figure in British history. She illuminates the literature with her wit and astute observations. She wrote one of the classic novels, Pride and Prejudice, as a teenager. Her literary influence and themes of her novels still mesmerize plenty of people even today.
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)
Truth was born into slavery and managed to escape to freedom with her infant daughter. By the late 1840s, she advocated for women’s rights and universal and universal suffrage. She delivered the famous “Ain’t I a woman?” speech, where she challenged the prevailing notions of race segregation, gender inferiority, and inequality, in Ohio in 1850.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020)
She was a judge and an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Despite being educated, she struggled to find employment; probably this brought her attention to the prevailing gender discrimination. Throughout her career she has voiced out concerns such as financial equality for women, LGBTQ+ rights, equality in education, etc.
Happy Women’s Day!