Women's Equality Day: 10 Powerful Women Around the World Who Dared to Dream Against All Odds

Table of Content

1. 1 - The Fearless Climber- Arunima Sinha
2. 2 - The Liberal Rescuer- Harshini Kanhekar 
3. 3 - The Go-Getter- Falguni Nayar
4. 4 - The Hustler- Christiane Amanpour
5. 5 - The Brave Soldier- Shanti Tigga
6. 6 - Women are Enough- All Women Crew -Tarini
7. 7 - The Courageous Fighter- Nadia Murad
8. 8 - The Lion-Hearted Rihanna
9. 9 - The Benevolent Chancellor- Angela Markel
10. 10 - The Strong Survivor- Rigoberta Menchu Tum

Womankind is a species of warriors, survivors, and courageous beings. They are brave, kind, compassionate, supportive, solid, and the most loving people on this planet. We have seen beautiful examples of women in history; in the motherly sacrifice of Mother Teresa, the bravery of Rosa Parks, the strength of Kalpana Chawla, the compassion of Florence Nightingale, and many more. All these women deserve a celebration, for which we celebrate August 26th as women's equality day. 

Since 1971, August 26th is celebrated as women's equality day to commemorate because women were granted the right to vote on this day. However, women worldwide are radiating their power and strength in every field. 

Let's salute their power on this international women's equality day. As Elenor Roosevelt said, "A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water."
 

1 - The Fearless Climber- Arunima Sinha

Someone once said, "Life is like climbing a mountain. Except that seeking the peak doesn't matter. What matters is your survival through the journey." Arunima Sinha was always a survivor and one of the best volleyball players when she received a call from CISF. She didn't know her train to Delhi would be her most challenging journey. 
When some thieves entered her coach and asked her to hand over her gold chain to them, she was courageous to refuse them, but the furious thieves attacked her by throwing her from the moving train. This accident cost Sinha both her legs and left her with various injuries and a prosthetic leg. However, the accident or thieves could not take her will to survive; she was as eager to achieve heights in her life as she used to be as a little girl. After the accident, Sinha decided to climb all seven highest peaks in the world, and today she achieved it all. So, let's celebrate her courage on this international gender equality day. 

2 - The Liberal Rescuer- Harshini Kanhekar 

A famous quote from Candace Bushnell says, "Men may have discovered fire, but women discovered how to play with it." Well, every woman learns to play with fire at her adolescent age while cooking food. But even with our expertise in the field, there was no women firefighter in India until Harshini decided to join. Kanhekar had to prove herself worthy every day while training in this male-dominated field. But she knew better than impressing her classmates and focused on achieving her goal. With her power and strength to break the stereotype, she deserves a celebration on this national women's equality day. 

3 - The Go-Getter- Falguni Nayar

Ralph W. Gerard said, "No age or time of life, no position or circumstance, has a monopoly on success. Any age is the right age to start doing!" Founder and CEO of Nykaa- India's top cosmetic brand, Falguni Nayar, proved it correct. She has the enthusiasm, courage, and potential to leave her well-paying job at 50 and build her empire. She is an inspiration for everyone and deserves a celebration on this international women's equality day. 

4 - The Hustler- Christiane Amanpour

Coco Chanel correctly said, "A girl should be two things: who and what she wants." CNN Journalist Christiane Amanpour was just a girl who wanted to explore and learn new things, grow up and become the bravest journalist of her age. She captured and covered the truth in the most dangerous of regions. She has covered wars, outbreaks, violence, hunger, poverty, and slavery and has earned the title of a truth seeker in her journey. Celebrating her on this women's rights day encourages all women out there fighting for truth. 

5 - The Brave Soldier- Shanti Tigga

A quote from the Holy Bible, proverbs 31:25, says, "She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future." Shanti Tigga was her, a woman of bravery, strength, and courage. She was formally known as a victim of child marriage, a widower, a mother of two children, and a woman from the scheduled tribe of West Bengal, India. However, Tigga was more than all these titles; she was an extraordinary girl who knew how to work hard. After her husband died, Tigga enrolled in the army at an age of 35 and was an exemplary trannie of her batch who surpassed all her counterparts by taking five seconds less to complete the run of 1.5 km. She was the first female jawan and the bravest soldier. 

6 - Women are Enough- All Women Crew -Tarini

Diane Mariechild said, "A woman is a full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform." And we can capture this essence of womanhood on this national women's equality day in the Indian navy women sailing crew called Tarini. The Six female members of INSV who skippered Tarini are Lieutenant commander Vartika Joshi, Lieutenant commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lieutenant Aishwarya Boddapati, and Lieutenant Patarapalli Swathi, Lieutenant Sh. Vijaya Devi and Lieutenant Payal Gupta. They are the first all-women crew to sail across the ocean and circumnavigate the world. The team started their journey in September 2017 and returned in May 2018 with a successful journey full of adventure, overcoming every obstacle they faced. Their journey made every woman proud, so they deserve a shout-out on this women's equality day.

7 - The Courageous Fighter- Nadia Murad

Winston Churchill said, " if you are going through hell, keep going; why stay in hell." However, all of us often forget this saying when we are in a difficult situation, and if most of us were in the position of Nadia, we might have given up. Nadia Murad is an Iraqi woman who faced a terrible fate at an age of 21. After being captured by ISIL, she was raped, became a sex slave, watched her whole family massacred, and threatened to be executed if she didn't convert to IS version of Islam. Even after all this, she didn't lose hope; she escaped and worked hard to save all the people used as sex slaves in the name of war. So, let's salute her bravery on this national women's equality day.  

8 - The Lion-Hearted Rihanna

As Lalah Deliah said, "she remembered who she was, and the game changed." Famous music sensation and the Barbadian beauty Rihanna could have been a spoiled child, but she decided to bloom. Even her parents failed marriage, and her father's addiction did not stop her from being the beautiful artist she is now. Rihanna chose music to escape and found her true personality while inspiring many other girls struggling with these issues. So, let's celebrate her honesty and will to succeed on this women's equality day. 

9 - The Benevolent Chancellor- Angela Markel

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Angela Markel said, "Today, no one laughs at a girl when she says that she wants to become a minister or a chancellor." Markel is the first female chancellor of Germany and the fearless female figure for many young women. She saved millions of refugees, works hard every day, and continues to inspire the world. Even with her position, she does not take over with pride; her compassion lives within her. Her work deserves a salute on this women's equality day. 

10 - The Strong Survivor- Rigoberta Menchu Tum

Mother Teresa said, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love." The Nobel prize winner Rigoberta, proves this statement right. She has been a women's rights activist since her teenage, and she continues to work for the rights of people around her. She is known for her exemplary work, being an advocate for ethnocultural and Indian people's rights in the western hemisphere. After her brother was arrested and killed while suffering torture, she became determined never to let this be a fate of an innocent man. So, let's celebrate her victory on this women's equality day. 
 
All these women and many more have dedicated their lives to bringing a change and making their people proud by achieving success despite of all the obstacles they had faced. And we at WoodenStreet salute them and every other woman around the world. 
 
Don't forget to mention how you will celebrate your women's equality day on 26th august in the comment section below. 
 
We will be back with the next blog soon. Till then, stay tuned!
 
And we wish you a joyful International women's equality day. 

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