Many of you might be wondering, how can anyone be analogized to God? Indeed, women can be. They are the creators, the mothers. God’s best creation has undergone a lot of pain and suffering in past. History has seen that it is this pain that made them stronger and more determined to conquer the world. Which day could have been better than the occasion of “International Women’s Day”, to remember such dynamic women and get ignited by their inspirational lives? I will talk of eight such women, from different genres, different countries, speaking different languages, and yet, not one of them failed to mark an everlasting impression on our minds. These leaders are well known, but not every one of us, know everything special about them. Continue reading if you are women and have big goals to achieve. It’s much better if you are a man. You should read it to adore the women in your lives, and to inspire your daughters with such heroic stories, in future.
Being a king or the queen is not something that everyone can carry off easily. Carrying the burden of “the crown” since a very young age, Queen Elizabeth is recognized for her royal manners. Little did anyone of us know that she served as a mechanic, thereby becoming the first member of the royal family to join the armed forces. Her Royal Highness, the longest reigning British monarch, was torn between her family and crown, for innumerable times. From denying her sister to marry the man whom she loved to staying away from her children for month’s all together while carrying a smile on all the international trips, was not plain sailing. Maintaining good relations with the nations, which were earlier the British colonies was challenging. But, HRH did all this gracefully.
Politics has always played an exceptional part in our lives, and so did a few political leaders. Speaking of politics, one cannot forget our “Iron Lady”. Former Indian Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi was too bold in taking her decisions. Nationalizing the privately owned banks to promote economic equality and unchaining the citizens of East Pakistan (then) into their own free nation of Bangladesh required critical thinking and strict actions. Had Mrs Gandhi not been there, you couldn’t have tasted Punjab’s butter chicken anymore. The iconic scene of Raj and Simran running towards each other in Punjab’s “Sarson ke khet” couldn’t have been shot. Sending army troops inside the Golden Temple, I believe, was the strongest action; she took, for protecting her country from any further partitioning. Else, we would have known other nation by the name of “Khalistan”.
Another powerful woman who rose with time was Mrs Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani Prime Minister. She has been the only female PM, her country ever saw. Coming from a dominantly Muslim nation, where educated women were scarce, she ended up being an Oxford graduate. She became the first Asian women to be elected as a President of the Oxford Union. It has been a characteristic of the government of Pakistan to dethrone or assassinate a good leader. She wanted terrorism to be uprooted from her country. Alas, she was assassinated too.
The noblest profession is that of serving others, understanding the duty assigned to us by God, and taking care of his children. With a magnificent heart, Mother Teresa established centres for the blind, aged and disabled; and a leper colony. She spent many years in the this “The City of Joy”, where I live currently. She received Noble Peace Prize in 1979, and donated the whole amount of 192,000 dollars amongst the poor, without saving a single penny for herself. We don’t come across such souls every day.
While marrying your perfect man, the vows that you take are, to be there together in sickness and in health, to be there together in happiness and sorrow, and so on… In that era when women were still channelling out ways to work, Madam Curie, worked with her husband and found the metal Polonium. She was the one who discovered “Radium” and henceforth became the first person (man or woman) to win the Nobel Prize, twice. Seems like, all you boys should learn how to support your future wives in their work, just like Madam Curie’s husband did. Girls need to learn that marriages are not the end of their lives. They should continue their work, till the time, they feel passionate about it.
Women have written some great books too. Being a “Potterhead”, it’s impossible for me to continue this article without mentioning about the great women who shaped my imagination, and still keeps me on my knees in the hope that someday I will get my “Hogwarts letter”. J.K. Rowling lost her mother and fell into depression when she conceived the idea of “the wizarding world”. After that, she fell in and then out of love. Hence, she had a failed marriage and a baby daughter, to whom she was a “Single mother” now. While working in cafes, she started writing on paper napkins. She used to write while travelling on trains. She dedicated herself completely, to her novel. She, however, got rejected by 12 publishers and started losing confidence. It was then, that, Bloomsbury gave her this opportunity, and all that we have now is a bestselling book series and highest grossing film series, of all time.
Keenly interested in fashion myself, the next women about whom I will write, is “Coco Chanel”. Founder of the famous brand “Chanel”, she broke the stereotype by rescuing women from the tight corsets and making casual dresses look cool. Since I am a “Computer Science” student; I will do the formalities by putting “Mrs Grace Hopper” in my list too. She joined the US Navy during World War II, to program Mark I. On the contrary, she ended up developing entirely different language, which is widely known as COBOL, now.
Hence, someone has rightly said, “A woman is like a tea bag. You can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” The above-discussed women turned their adversities into their biggest weapons, just like a kite flies against the adverse winds. I would like all of you ladies, to gear up against your troubles, have unwavering faith in yourselves, and change the world in your own beautiful way. You are the mothers, the sisters, the wives, the girlfriends, the Patriots, the musicians, the scientists, the writers, and the list is endless. You can do anything and everything. You just need to begin. The world will then conspire for your success and magic will happen. To my dear gentlemen who finished reading this article, “Bravo! Now, you can tell others, these stories, too.”
