If you haven't found out through Google or the calendar tacked onto your wall, it's International Women's Day. I just thought I would celebrate by cutting and pasting some fabulous females onto a collage. These individuals are incredibly admirable in what they do and have been taking the world by storm. Of course, there are a lot more than 12 amazing women in the world. But still, this is a pretty good list. As Beyoncé once said, "Who run the world? Girls."
1. Saudi Women Taking Over the Streets
On October 26th, women in Saudi Arabia defied their country's de facto ban on women driving. They got behind the wheel and posted it all on Youtube. Talk about badass.
2. Beyoncé
As always, Queen Bey keeps it real. In an essay she wrote on Maria Shriver's website, she proclaimed that "gender equality is a myth" and that we need cooperation of both males and females to accomplish true equality. Quite honestly, I like to believe that Beyoncé is one of my spirit animals.
3. Nabila ur-Rehman
This Pakistani girl witnessed her grandmother getting blown to bits by a drone strike. Last October she, along with her father and brother, testified in a congressional briefing on US drone policy. Not only did she display an amazing amount of courage, but she also brought awareness to the civilian cost of drones, all at the age of 9.
4. Janet Yellen
First female Fed chair, 'nuff said.
5. Lupita Nyong'o
This woman has been creating a lot of buzz since the release of 12 Years a Slave, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has amazing talent and inspirational words to offer. Her beautiful acceptance speech at the Oscars pulled on just about everyone's heartstrings.
6. Malala Yousafzai
You may as well be living under a rock if you have not yet heard of this incredible young lady. She continued to go to school in Pakistan, despite threats from the Taliban. She got shot in the head. And what did she do? She became, as CNN put it, "a symbol of defiance and female empowerment." Oh, and no big deal, she also got nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
7. Aung San Suu Kyi
Sure, we haven't heard much from her recently. But she is anything but irrelevant. Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the world's most prominent political prisoners. She is a Burmese opposition politician and chairperson of the National League for Democracy. She announced that she intends on running for the presidency in Myanmar's 2015 elections. I can't wait!
8. Gabrielle Giffords
This Democratic congresswoman has got a lot of spunk. She is the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to the US Congress and focused on health care reform and illegal immigration. In 2011, she was shot in the head outside of a grocery store by Jared Lee Loughner, who killed 6 people and hit 19 others. Despite the odds, she made an amazing recovery. It gets better-- to commemorate the third year of the tragedy, she went skydiving. Pretty ballin, if I do say so myself.
9. Angela Merkel
Another outstanding individual in politics; Merkel secured her third term as the German Chancellor last September. Upon the completion of her third term, she will become the longest-serving elected female head of government in history. She has proven to be a consistent, strong leader with high approval ratings. Under her leadership, Germany reached its lowest unemployment rate in 20 years.
10. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova
Tolokonnikova is one of the Pussy Riot members. The band gained much attention when they asked the Virgin Mary to "kick Putin out" at a church gig in 2012 and got imprisoned as a result. In protest of the harsh prison conditions, Tolokonnikova went on a hunger strike for ten days. She and band member Maria Alyokhina were released in December.
11. Laverne Cox
Cox plays Sophia Burset on the hit Netflix show Orange is the New Black. She plays an incredible role in advocating for transgender rights-- I saw her interview with Katie Couric, she is awesome. Her work on the show and her activism have helped bring awareness to her cause.
12. Wendy Davis
Come on, you guys, that filibuster was so badass. This woman is straight up fabulous.
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