There have been women born in each generation who were true inspirations, leading with their actions and personality. They weren’t ordinary people, nor were their motives ordinary; their caliber setting them apart, flying higher than the rest. Be it technology, politics, science, or sports; there have been women who broke through the ceiling and changed the status quo, achieving what others couldn’t
Here are some of the women of our generation and the past one, who made a mark and inked their name in history:
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Mother Teresa
At the age of 18, she set out to enroll herself as a nun in an institute in Ireland. She had already decided what her true calling in life was: helping the needy. She came to India later, and the work she did in India was massive. She established a home for the dying so that people on their deathbed could die with dignity. She later opened establishments to treat people with leprosy, orphans, and for the poor.
She has been awarded many international awards over the years, including a Congressional medal for peace and a Nobel peace prize. She is known as one of the most influential women of all time. -
Billie Jean King
She is considered to be one of the best female tennis players of all time. How she became a legend and set her name in stone is the story of ‘battle of sexes.’ In 1973, Bobby Riggs, the former world number one ridiculed the women’s game and termed it as inferior to men. He invited King to play a game of tennis to prove that, but she gracefully declined. However, Margaret Court stepped in and lost the game. After that, Billie Jean King was invited to play the match, and she won in three straight sets. That was massive for the women liberation movement, and King will be forever known for that.
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Rosa Parks
Travelling in a bus in Alabama, an African-American woman refused to give up her seat for another white passenger as instructed by the bus driver. It might sound simple, but doing that in 1955 was unheard of. Her gesture resulted in a boycott of the transportation service crippling the service and leading to a movement for equal rights. As published in an article in TFTH, “her action showed that she won’t back down when asked to, for women around the world that was gesture of immense strength.”
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Amelia Earhart
Source: latimes.com
She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. When she landed in Ireland, a farmer asked her if she had flown from afar; she replied, ‘America.’ She received many distinguished awards for that feat of hers. She got on another solo trip from Hawaii to California and completed that one too. She broke many records flying, and her name will be forever engraved in history for that. She was influential to the women’s rights movement advising other women to pursue their dreams. Her famous saying, “Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others” still ring true to the ears.
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Oprah Winfrey
Source: tvinsider.com
Amassing a 2.7 Billion dollars’ worth of wealth in her name, her flight to stardom has been brutal yet one of the most inspiring stories of all time. She was raped at the age of 9, left her home to live with her father at the age of 14. At 19, she decided to pursue media studies and became the first female black anchor at the age of 20. The moment she decided to that, the talk show went from the lowest to becoming the highest rated talk show in Chicago. She hosted ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ that made her reach unprecedented levels of popularity. Also, a known philanthropist, she has donated $300 million to charities. She has also been nominated for an Oscar; what more could you expect from one person. The students active on TopAssignmentExperts, proclaim her to be ‘an inspiration for women around the globe, she broke all barriers to achieve success.’ She had every reason to hold herself back, but she fought back against all the odds determined to go ahead in life.