20 of the world's most INFLUENTIAL women

Hi! I am Parthi Agarwal and welcome to 'The P Word'.

Women!! There used to be a time where women were considered the 'weaker gender'. They were not allowed to have jobs. Oppressed for thousands of years...
 Especially in India, women were married at the age of 12 or 13 and were cremated or burnt with their dead husbands. This practice was called the 'Sati'.

After some time, people had some sense knocked into them and women were allowed to have jobs. But did it stop there, NO! Women were paid less than men. Why? Even I don't know the reason. They were still not valued, even with jobs. Most of them heard "Hon, please get me a doughnut and a coffee with seven cubes of sugar." Hon. Seriously, 'hon'. Most people wonder, 'What is wrong with 'hon'? Well, according to me, when you call a women 'hon', you are implying that their names are not worthy to be remembered.

But, there are some women whose name will always be worth remembering...

1. Beyoncé

Okay, I obviously had to put her on my list. She is fierce, confident and bold and an ideal role model for girls to prove that thy can have all that.

2.Amelia Earhart

Amelia was the first female aviator to fly a plane solo across the Atlantic Ocean! How amazing, right?

3. Loretta Walsh

Walsh was the first woman in the navy and the first women in the army in fact. She served as a Yeomen and there was a rule that: Yeomen should only be males.

4.Valentina Tereshkova

Soviet, Valentina Tereshkova was the first female in space when she was launched on the Vostok 6, on June 16, 1963.

5. Marie Curie

Marie Sklowdoska Curie changed the world by discovering the science of radioactivity. This led to many cures of cancer!

6. Mother Teresa

She was a nun. She dedicated her whole life to helping the poor and received a well deserved Nobel Prize in 1979. Am I proud to say she is Indian?

7. Marylin Monroe

Okay... I loooove Monroe. She is not a dumb blonde and has broken so many stereotypes in Hollywood. She also spread the message that a person's skin color should not be in the way of equal privilege.

8. Helen Keller

Another one to obviously be on my list. She was  blind and deaf and yet proved that with the right attitude, no disability could deter her.

9. Emmeline Pankhurst

Emmeline was known for fighting for woman's rights. She founded the 'Women's Social and Political Union.'

10. Cleopatra

She was a beautiful Pharaoh. She used her beauty for protecting her empire. She, of course did not approve of her methods but she did what she did to protect her people.

11. Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc  is a national heroine in France. She was burned at the stake of restoring the throne of the King Of France and was later canonized. She was an extremely brave woman

12. Sappho

Sappho was the first known female writers. Plato referred to Sappho as one of the 10 great poets.

13. Boudicca 

I think she is my favorite in this list. She was an inspirational leader of the Britons. She led tribes to revolt against Roman Occupation. 

14.Mirabai

Mirabai was born in a privileged Hindu family but she forsook the expectations to be a princess. Her poems and songs were devoted to Lord Krishna and openly challenged the upper castes rituals.

15. Sojourner Truth

Truth was an African American women's rights campaigner. She gave a speech called 'Ain't I A Woman' which explained how women were equal to women.

16. Rukhmabai Raut

Rukhmabai Raut changed the world, specifically India, at the age of 12. Raut was a victim of child marriage. She was involved in the legal case involving her marriage as a child bride and was one of the first female doctors to practice in India.

17. Billie Jean King

*deep breath* Billie Jean is a tennis legend!! She holds 20 Wimbledon titles and has famously defeated Bobby Riggs (another tennis legend) in 'The Battle Of The Sexes' when Riggs said "men were superior athletes than woman..."

18. Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres is a talk show host and an advocate of gay rights. She influenced the attitude of the world towards gay rights more than any other celebrity. She came out as gay in 1997.

19. Malala Yousafzai

There is a tiny possibility I fan Malala.. Malala Yousafzai fought for girl's education rights in Pakistan. She is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Price, at the age of 17.She has a really good story behind her. I have read her biography and it is the best thing in the world.

20. Emma Watson

Aaah! I am a BIG fan of Emma Watson. She has done more than defeat horcruxes in the Harry Potter Series. She is an actress, model and an ambassador for UN Women Goodwill and has influenced the fashion industry so MUCH!!

That's it! These women have worked extremely hard and have gone through an immense amount of struggle for us to have equal rights and facilities. Women are now walking shoulder to shoulder with men because of these wonderful females. Even NASA says that the first women on Mars, might be a women. Took you long enough. 

QOTD: Who is the most influential female you know

K BYE!

By Parthi Agarwal