Inspirational Women Across the Globe

Writer: Marie-Louise Tambyapin?

Date: 08.04.22

Tuesday 8th March 2022 was International Women’s Day. On Sunday 27th March it was Mother’s Day. In keeping with celebrating the female gender, this blog post is dedicated to honouring a selection of inspirational women.?

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi

Indira Gandhi was born on the 19th November 1917 and passed away on 30th October 1984. She was the third prime minister of India. Gandhi was the first and (so far) the only female prime minister to date. She served as prime minister from January 1966 to March 1977. Then she served again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984. Gandhi was criticised by the media and seen to be a political puppet instead of a leader. However, she grew strong during her time as prime minister. She went to war with Pakistan to support independence in East Pakistan. It was a victory for India and led to the creation of Bangladesh.?

Wangari Maathai

Wangar? Muta Maathai was born in Kenya on the 1st April 1940 and died on the 25th September 2011. She was known for her environmental, political and social activism. Maathai was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. She was a senior lecturer in the University of Nairobi in 1975. She campaigned for equal benefits for women working at the university. Maathai was a member of various civic organisations in the 1970s including the Kenya Red Cross Society and the Kenya Association of University Women. In 1977 Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement. It was a response to environmental concerns which were raised by rural Kenyan women. In 1986 the movement expanded throughout Africa.?

Agnes Mary Clerke

Agnes Mary Clerke was born on the 10th February 1842 in Ireland. She passed away on 20th January 1907. Clerke was an Irish astronomer. She also published work focused on astronomy. Her interest in the field started at an early age. She used her father’s telescope to observe the stars. By fifteen years old, she started to write a history of astronomy. During her career, Clerke wrote many book reviews. Some were written in Italian, German, Greek or French. Her most notable work is A Popular History of Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century. It was published in 1885. In 1893, Clerke was awarded the Actonian Prize of 100 guineas by the Royal Institution. Also, she was elected by the Royal Astronomical Society as an honorary member. This rank was given to only three women before her time.?

Ada Lovelace?

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was born on 10th December 1815 in England and passed away on 27th November 1852. She was a mathematician. Lovelace was regarded as the world’s first computer programmer. This is due to her publishing the first algorithm intended to be carried out by the? general purpose computer after realising the device had applications beyond pure calculation. Her educational exploits bought her into contact with notable names such as Andrew Crosse (scientist) , Michael Faraday (scientist) and Charles Dickens (author). After her death, there have been several commemorations. The Association for Women in Computing introduced the Ada Lovelace Award in 1981. The British Computer Society has awarded winners the Lovelace Medal since 1998. There is also an Ada Lovelace Day celebrated annually on the second Tuesday of October. It is to raise the profile of women who work in STEM. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).?

Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera was born in America on 2nd July 1951 and died on 19th February 2002.? Rivera was born to a Venezuelan mother and Puerto Rican father. Her father abandoned her and her mother died. Her Venezuelan grandmother raised her but disapproved of her behaviour as a child. Rivera lived on the streets as a child and was forced into child prostitution. A local community of drag queens took her in and named her Sylvia. Sylvia was a trans woman who was an LGBTQ+ activist. Rivera was friends with Marsha P. Johnson (who allegedly threw the first brick in the Stonewall riots). In 1970 they co-founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries). This helped to provide homes for trans people living on the streets of New York in the 1970s, as well as fighting for the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in New York. After Rivera’s death, her portrait was added to the National Portrait Gallery as the first transgender activist to be featured in the gallery. There is also a Sylvia Rivera Law Project dedicated "to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine gender-identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination or violence".

Louise Mack?

Louise Mack was born in Tasmania on 10th October 1870.? She died on 23rd November 1935. Mack was an Australian novelist, journalist and poet. She is famously known as the first female war correspondent in Belgium (where she was living during the time the First World War broke out). Mack reported for London’s Daily Mail and the Evening News. In 1915 she published A Woman's Experiences in the Great War. It is an eyewitness account of the German invasion of Antwerp. Mack returned to Australia in 1916. She gave lectures about her experiences in the war. Mack also wrote frequently for newspapers and magazines including the Bulletin and The Sydney Morning Herald. In 1917-1918, she used money from her lectures to raise money for the Australian Red Cross Society.?

Chiaki Mukai

Chiaki Mukai was born on 6th May 1952. Mukai is known as a physician and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut. Mukai made history as the first Japanese woman in space. She is also the first Japanese citizen to have had two spaceflights as well as being the first Asian woman in space. Her first Space Shuttle mission was in July 1994 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. The second Space Shuttle mission was in 1998 where she was aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. Her time aboard Columbia revolved around investigating Space Life Science and Microgravity Science. The Discovery mission was supporting various research projects including the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform and space flight and the ageing process. After returning from space, Mukai became the director of the JAXA Centre for Applied Space Medicine and Human Research in July 2012. Mukai also became the vice president of the Tokyo University of Science in March 2015.?

Natalie du Toit

Natalie du Toit was born on 29th January 1984. She was born in Cape Town, South Africa. At 14 years old, du Toit was competing internationally in swimming in the 1998 Commonwealth Games. When she was 17, her left leg was amputated after getting hit by a car whilst riding her scooter on the way to school after swimming practice. Du Toit started walking three months after the accident. She had intentions of competing in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In the 2002 Commonwealth games, she won the multi-disability 50 metres freestyle and the multi-disability 100 metres freestyle in world record time. In 2003, du Toit competed against able-bodied swimmers and won gold in the 800 metres freestyle at the All-Africa Games, silver in the 800 metres freestyle and bronze in the 400 metres freestyle at the Afro-Asian Games. She qualified for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and finished 16th place in the women’s 10km race. Du Toit took part in the 2008 Summer Paralympics and won five gold medals. She was also chosen by the South Africa’s Olympic Committee to carry their flag at the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. This made her the first athlete to carry a flag in the Olympics and Paralympics in the same year.?

This post only shows a small handful of inspirational women. There are many across the world who make an impact in their local community or even amongst friends and family. Many of these women have paved the way for other females as they became the ‘first’ to make a significant contribution in society. It should not be used to compare any woman’s attempt at similar achievements but to shine a light on female success. Women are capable of achieving many great things in any industry and should not limit their talents, knowledge, skills or qualities when they find their purpose in life.?

Marie-Louise Tambyapin

Digital Marketing Intern at ISE ireland.?

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/marielouisetambyapin/