Pretty ProgressiveBefore feminists began to fight for equal opportunities of ladies in all facets of society, the contributions of ladies were often swept under the carpet and not easily acknowledged. However, regardless of the limitations, they have still been able to make significant contributions and even founded innovations to make the earth a better place. These ladies can be found in science, the arts, leadership, and others. Some fought with all they had to see that justice prevailed, some before and after World War II.
Here’s a list of 7 women across generations that have changed things with their passion and determination.
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, when the bus driver requested her to get up and offer her seat to a white man. Parks, an African seamstress, objected and, in so doing, started an entire civil rights movement in the United States.
Segregation laws remained in place in Alabama in 1955, with municipal buses requiring Caucasian people to sit in the front and colored men and ladies to sit in the rear. On December 1, the bus conductor urged the four black passengers to rise and give the guy an entire row since there were no more seats in the white section. Parks was the only one who disobeyed.
A wave of demonstrations erupted around the country due to Parks’ arrest. At 92, she died on October 24, 2005, becoming the first female ever to be laid to rest at the U.S. Capitol, a distinction she held until her death in 2007.
Sojourner Truth
If you’re looking for a lady to inspire you, go no farther than Sojourner Truth. This speech by Truth, an African-American abolitionist and ladies privilege campaigner, is nicknamed “Aren’t I a Woman?” because of its content.
The truth was sold as a slave with a herd of sheep for $100 when she was only nine years old after her family was forcibly torn from her at birth. While Truth fled to freedom in 1829, her two other children were left behind, including Sophia, who was only six months old.
Truth started advocating for the rights of ladies and African Americans in the late 1840s and was noted for her impassioned lectures on jail reform and universal suffrage. As a prominent abolitionist and pioneer of ladies’ suffrage in the United States, Truth was assassinated in Michigan in 1883 at forty-four. You can get free essays about women’s rights for a broader understanding of ladies that have done big things.
Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s sharp social insights and humor established a literary genre. Jane Austen was raised in a large English household with eight siblings, and she began writing the now-classic books Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility when she was only sixteen years old.
Her books are witty and engaging, and they raise important issues about ladies’ position in society. It wasn’t until after Austen’s death that her brother, Henry, disclosed to people that she was the genuine author of some of the most successful books of her day.’ The topics and teachings of her works are still relevant today, thanks to her literary impact.
Ada Lovelace
She was an English mathematician and the first computer programmer. As the daughter of Lord Byron and Lady Wentworth, Ada Lovelace was born into an aristocratic household with access to some of the greatest minds ever.
When Charles Dickens met Ada, he described her as a “charming lady of society,” but she is most known for being the first person to write a computer program that was years ahead of its time.
After Lovelace’s death at 36 from cancer, her notes on Babbage’s Analytical Engine, which has become recognized as the earliest description of computer and software ever, took almost a century to be appreciated.
Malala Yousafzai
Another international figure known for leading change is Malala Yousafzai. On July 12, 1997, she was born four months after March in Peshawar, Pakistan. It wasn’t until the Taliban took over her hometown that Yousafzai was allowed to attend school since her father was a teacher and operated an all-girls school. A shooter opened fire on Malala, 15, on her school bus in 2012, after she spoke out against the oppression of girl education.
Malala was able to continue her education and was just 17 years old when she was awarded the Nobel Prize, making her the youngest-ever winner of such an honor. Her present studies include philosophy, politics, and economics, and she is enrolled at Oxford University.
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou, a poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist, is one of the most prominent females in the American timeline. Her award-winning memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was the first autobiographical best-seller by an African-American lady.
Angelou was born into a terrible family situation. Maya’s biases and discrimination as a young black lady in Stamps, Arkansas, persisted throughout her life. Her mother’s lover abused Angelou at seven years, and her uncles murdered him in retaliation. It was so traumatizing for Angelou that she went almost completely silent for several years after the tragedy.
She has been one of the most outspoken voices in the struggle, and her writings, such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, examine issues such as racism and rape, gender inequality in work organizations as well as the power of character and a love of reading to transcend these issues.
Wangari Maathai
Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist Wangari (shown above) created the Green Belt Movement, which pushed for tree planting, environmental preservation, and the advancement of ladies’ privilege.
When she was appointed assistant minister for environment and natural resources in parliament, she made history by being the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her contributions to democracy and sustainable development. Her picture can be found on Getty Images.
Conclusion
The ladies on this list have all done great work, inspired younger girls, and are role models. Other notable mentions include; Anne Frank, Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, etc. These females put a lot into their research, and their images can be found on Getty Images
