Femme Power

For thousands of years in the history of mankind, women have succeeded in manifesting the vastness of their power and influence amid the generally patriarchal societies in various places around the globe.

From the era of Cleopatra, to the many women who stood out during the time of Christ, to Joan of Arc, Queen Elizabeth, Mother Theresa, and many others who made history, it’s apparent that women have the capacity to rise above mediocrity and prove to be torrents of influence despite astounding threats to their lives.

Today, lots of modern women continue to prove that they can make a difference, be it striking or modest, in the society I’ve come to wake up to…women who just couldn’t or can’t take things sitting down…women who wear many hats, and being able to deliver changes and inspirations despite the odds.

AUNG SAN SUU KYI - a Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi is a noted pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League of Democracy in Burma. She gained recognition and respect worldwide due to her peaceful and non-violent struggle against a military dictatorship. She is currently under detention by the Burmese junta, hence even though she gained the right to be Prime Minister after the 1990 General Election, Suu Kyi’s hands are “bound” and could not assume that role. She has been offered freedom if she left the country but she refused. Suu Kyi said in a speech, “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

MOTHER THERESA - Born into a Roman Catholic Albanian family in Macedonia, she felt the call to help the poor at the age of 12. A few years later, she decided to materialize her calling by working in India and subsequently started The Missionaries of Charity, an institution commited to serve the poorest of the poor. Mother Theresa was the epitome of love and compassion as she transcended all barriers in reaching the most desolate, the sick, and the poor.

OPRAH WINFREY - One of the women I strongly admire for overcoming adversity (She was born to a poor unwed teenage mother in Mississippi. She was raped at the age of 12.) and maneuvered herself to be the richest African-American of the 20th century. She started her career in a radio station when she was in high school and later rose from the ranks to become a media mogul that she is today. She is known to have revolutionized the TV talk show genre through her no-holds-barred confession culture and self-help fads.

These are but a few of my favorite women who have made a big difference in their fields of interest and passion.

Catch more as I compile the rest of my favorite heroines in my next blogs.

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