Women of Steel

By Khazima Munaf

It is the time of the year to sit back and reflect on our gender biased past and a repressive present to work for a better future that supports gender egalitarianism.

March 8th is here for us to celebrate International Women’s day which is coinciding with Women’s History Month this year because as much as we would like to believe that we have come a long way from the barbaric days of the Stone Age or the from the difficulties of Elizabethan or Victorian times, sadly women even today continue to be subjected to gender biases on political, social, and economic fronts.

FutureToday looks back at the following women who inspired the best in people. It sure makes one feel they can contribute towards the society no matter what because you don't need to be in a specific field, time, or environment to make a difference to the world in this lifetime.

Celebrating 8th March does not mean limiting acknowledgement and appreciation of the role of women in one’s life, but simply to not be ignorant of our reality and to continue fighting for gender equality.

Anne Frank

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

During her stay in Netherlands while hiding from the Nazis, Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl, was gifted a diary by her father when she was 13. However, her diary was published after her death in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15. The diary served as a unique eye-witness account of life during Holocaust (mass murder of approximately six million Jews during World War II) and it became one of the world's most read books.

Mother Teresa

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Mother Teresa, the Nobel Peace Prize winner (1979), aimed at looking after those who had nobody to look after them through her own order "The Missionaries of Charity". She worked tirelessly towards her goal until her ill-health - that included two heart attacks, pneumonia, and malaria - forced her to step down in March 1997.

Aung Sang Suu Kyi

The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.

Burmese opposition politician, Suu Kyi, was under house arrest for 15 years for her pre-democracy campaigning. She only gained release in 2010 following an international campaign to let her free. She won a Nobel prize in 1991 where they accredited her struggle as one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades.

Billie Jean King

Women get the attention when we get into the men's arena, and that's sad.

Billie Jean King, the US tennis legend and the winner of 20 Wimbledon titles, famously beat Bobby Riggs in 1973 for a $100,000 prize in "The Battle of the sexes" after he said to her that men were superior athletes.

Michelle Obama

There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.

Michelle Obama, previously the first lady of the United States, was raised in a one bedroom apartment in Chicago before she went on to excel in academics and study at Princeton and Harvard. She is considered the most stylish leading lady after Jackie Kennedy and is working on a campaign to fight childhood obesity.

Benazir Bhutto

As a woman leader, I thought I brought a different kind of leadership. I was interested in women's issues, in bringing down the population growth rate... as a woman, I entered politics with an additional dimension - that of a mother.

She was the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan (1993-1996) and the first woman to head a Muslim state. During her leadership, she ended military dictatorship in her country and fought for women rights. She was assassinated in a suicide attack in 2007.

Princess Diana

I don't go by the rule book... I lead from the heart, not the head.

Princess Diana was a well-loved "people's princess". She devoted her life to charity work; and led a Nobel Peace Prize-winning campaign to ban landmines.

Oprah

Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism.

Oprah, a generous Philanthropist, who is today worth $2.7 billion as a famous US talk show host and a media proprietor, was born to a poor single mother in Mississippi.

Madonna

I'm tough, I'm ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a b****, okay.

Madonna has achieved an unprecedented level of power and control for a woman in the entertainment industry. She has sold more than 300 million records of her music and she has turned her hands to songwriting, acting, film-directing, and producing, fashion designing and writing children's books.

Amelia Earhart

Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.

Amelia Earhart was the first woman to ever fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932 and she became the first woman pilot in 1935 after flying solo from Hawaii to California. She embarked upon her lifelong dream of flying across the world in 1937, however, her flight went missing on that trip and she was never seen again.

Coco Chanel

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.

Chanel was a daughter to a laundrywoman and a market stall holder. Before becoming one of the greatest fashion designers the world has ever seen, she was a club singer and a hat maker.

Indira Gandhi

My father was a statesman, I am a political woman. My father was a saint. I am not.

Indira Gandhi served India as the Prime Minister for 15 years. She paved the way for democracy in India until her assassination in 1984.

Angela Merkel

When it comes to human dignity, we cannot make compromises.

Angela Merkel was appointed as the Chancellor of Germany in 2005 and she happens to be the first female chancellor presiding over the most powerful European economy.

Hillary Clinton

In too many instances, the march to globalization has also meant the marginalization of women and girls. And that must change.

After becoming the first lady of Arkansas in 1983 and then the United States in 1993, Hillary Clinton has been a powerful force in US politics ever since. She was the first 'first lady' to be a candidate in elected office in 1999 (in the race for New York Senator, which she won and served for two terms). She has won numerous awards for her work concerning women, health, and children.