CELEBRATING WOMEN
One spark can light a fire, but it takes many a spark to keep that fire burning bright and true for all to see. Beach side fires are fun and frivolous, but when the winter comes that fire needs to withstand and the community around it need to feel the warmth of its flames as they reach for the sky.
It takes many a story, many an effort and many a challenge overcome to make progress. Try walking a full working day in fashionable high heels – this too is a feat worth mentioning! Baby steps baby steps!
I’m actually not being coy, I know it’s a little cheeky to compare the strife of women across centuries with walking in stilettos but its just my way to say what Johnnie Walker has become known for “just keep walking”
I am so lucky, every day to witness and be part of telling the stories that connect and inspire and many of the real people, real stories, can be read here on the pages of our passionate SPICE4LIFE site.
Although I don’t like relating myself to the traditional word of Feminism, the definition of what that actually means has changed and evolved so much over the years that a I feel a new definition needs to be added to the dictionary. In my minds eye, a new aged modern feminist is one who can embrace her femininity, work with he male counterparts, as well as her female counterparts…be steadfast in her impression and conclusions and vision for her life, company, family, community, country and world.
But we must never forget. In any history, in any change making challenge where minority opinion won, or where a new perspective gained traction, or when through tragedy, human kind learnt.
The following pays my tribute to some of the women that have come before, that have given their voices, have led change, instigated greater good, fought for equality and championed the causes and issues that plagued society at the time.
Even if it meant, they stood a very big chance of ridicule, unpopularity and possible harm.
In South Africa one of my favourite female ICONS is Graca Machel and funnily enough it is in her silent strength and steadfast wisdom of words when she speaks that gives me inspiration. I’m a real babbler so I guess quietly spoken words of wisdom are the ones that touch me most.
Oriah Mountain Dreamers book, “the invitation” speaks from the gut and then there’s the descriptive imaginings of JK Rowling, but her most memorable words to me are the ones on Failure;
“Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure. But the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. Failure means a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself to be anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena where I believe I truly belonged. Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I built my life” ~ J.K. Rowling
Another firm favourite is Meryl Streep who manages to totally encompass the role she is playing in and make it her own. She personifies femininity to me, she has so many multi-faceted sides to her that she has investigated and given a voice to. There is substantial bravery in that. Here she speaks of change;
“Today is about looking forward, into a world where so called ‘women’s issues’ — human issues — of gender inequality live at the very crux of the global problems everyone suffers, from poverty to the age crisis, the rise in violent fundamentalist juntas, human trafficking and human rights abuses. This is your time, and it feels normal to you. But, really, there is no ‘normal.’ There’s only change, and resistance to it, and then more change.” ~ Meryl Streep
…and now below, tribute to some of the world’s women who have given voice. Voices that were given and in efforts to restore good in adversity, to equalize the leagues and ranks of mankind, for the greater good of humanity:
Hortensia (born c. 70 BCE) was a bold young female orator who successfully protested against a tax leveraged on Roman women despite their lack of political rights. Hortensia was born into a wealthy upper class Roman family and received an extensive education, which fueled her later interest in public speaking. In 42 BCE, when Hortensia was in her 20’s, she gave her “Speech on Taxation without Representation.” The speech was a passionate appeal on behalf of the 1,400 wealthiest women of Rome before the Second Roman Triumvirate (three male leaders) composed of Marcus Antonius, Gaius Octavius Augustus, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Hortensia sought to repeal a tax leveraged on these women to pay for civil war expenses by asserting that it was unfair to tax women since they had no political rights. She led a march through the streets of Rome and forced her way into the Forum to deliver her speech to the Triumvirs, which ultimately resulted in a repeal of the original tax.
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (1651 – 1695) was a Mexican nun who spoke defiantly against the church on behalf of women’s rights to education. Born in San Miguel Nepantla, Mexico, she gained recognition throughout the region as a teenager for her scholarship and writings, including numerous plays and poetry, which often challenged societal values. She decided to become a Hieronymite nun (a Roman Catholic sect) in 1667 so that she could continue studying at will. In 1690, her letter criticizing a well-known Jesuit sermon was published without her permission and received vast criticism for its “lack of serious religious content.” Sor Juana delivered her famous reply, “Respuesta a Sor Filotea” (or “The Answer”), which has been touted as the first feminist manifesto of the Americas, refusing to be silenced and continuing to advocate for women’s right to education. The Archbishop and others demanded that she give up any non-religious books or studies, but Sor Juana defiantly continued to publish her non-religious works.
Julia Ward Howe (1819 – 1910) was a prominent white American activist who sought to unite mothers to protest war and achieve world peace. An outspoken abolitionist, women’s suffragist, activist for prison reform and women’s education, poet, author, and songwriter, this New England writer defied her husband’s wishes by publishing her work for the public. Her writings shocked audiences through her bold descriptions of an unhappy marriage and a challenge to her husband’s authority —“improper” behavior for a woman of her day. Her song “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (1861), which remains an anthem of American patriotism, propelled her into stardom. Fluent in seven languages, Howe spent four decades after her husband’s death traveling as a preacher and reformer. She wrote her speech an “Appeal to Womanhood throughout the World,” also known as the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” (1870), calling upon women to unite in protest of the American Civil War and Franco-Prussian War. Later, she called for a Mother’s Day of Peace, which she envisioned as a day for women to convene to discuss how to achieve world peace (the day was never recognized by the U.S. government).
Ida B. Wells (1862 – 1931) was a courageous and tenacious African American activist best know for her prolific crusade against lynching. This suffragist, women’s rights advocate, journalist, and speaker began to fight for racial and gender equality during her teenage years in Memphis, Tennessee when she sued the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company for asking her to move her seat for a white man — a violation of the 1875 Civil Rights Act. She maintained this tenacious spirit throughout her career; at a 1913 women’s suffrage march in Washington, the 8,000 marchers were divided into groups representing their respective states. African American women marchers, however, were told to remain in a separate group. Refusing to be segregated, Wells slipped into her state’s unit for the march. Wells was a prolific speaker for over forty years. She was a founding member of the NAACP and delivered her speech “This Awful Slaughter” (1909) condemning lynching in the U.S. at the first annual NAACP conference.
Luisa Diogo (1958 – Present) was the first female to be appointed Prime Minister of Mozambique (2004-2010). During her time in office, she earned a reputation as a progressive reformer, a passionate advocate, and a savvy businesswoman. She continues to be an outspoken advocate of women’s empowerment, focusing in particular on reproductive health (including AIDs prevention). Her speech “Women for a Better World” (2008) was delivered at the Spain-Africa International Meeting the day before International Women’s Day. In this speech, Diogo proclaimed that the physical and emotional health of women in Mozambique is key to the strength and success of the society as a whole. She also called for global leaders to improve women’s health and safety around the world, including ending violence against women.
Julia Gillard (1961 – Present) was the first female Prime Minister of Australia and an outspoken critic of gender discrimination. Gillard completed her university studies in 1986 and began serving as an attorney at the law firm of Slater & Gordon in 1987. She later began a career in politics and quickly moved up the rankings, until she was ultimately elected the first female Prime Minister of Australia (2010-2013). At the House of Representatives Parliamentary Session in October 2012, she boldly and explicitly accused opposition leader Tony Abbott of sexism and hypocrisy. Her magnificent and dynamic testimony epitomized the power of women’s voices, and immediately went viral. Based upon her outstanding performance, she was lauded around the world for her eloquence and tenacity. Her outspoken critique of the sexism she witnessed and endured within the government eventually led to her early departure from office.
BriGette McCoy (1970 – Present) is a U.S. Veteran (served 1987-1991) who testified before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (March 13, 2013) about multiple sexual assaults perpetrated against her during her service in the military, which eventually rendered her disabled. During her testimony, she reveals that she was raped by a fellow soldier on her first day of service, and then again a month later on her first deployment abroad. She was also subjected to sexual harassment by two different senior officers during the course of her service. Her courageous testimony has been a key force in bringing the topic of sexual assault in the military to public attention and in creating pressure on the military to implement change
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815 – 1902) was a preeminent social activist, abolitionist, and leader of the nineteenth century American Women’s Rights Movement. Stanton is often credited with organizing the first structured women’s rights and women’s suffrage movements in the U.S. She delivered her speech the “Declaration of Sentiments” (1848) at the inaugural Women’s Convention in Seneca Falls, the first public forum in the U.S. called to address the rights of women. Working in partnership with her colleague Lucretia Mott, Stanton drew on similar arguments about human rights advocated in the abolitionist movement to advocate for a new feminist agenda. The speech was modeled after the rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence.
Kishida Toshiko (1863 – 1901) was considered one of Japan’s “First Wave” feminists who took advantage of the Meiji-Taisho period of reform, focusing their efforts on improving the status of women. The First Wave feminists believed that this improvement was necessary to gain the acceptance of other technologically advanced nations and to enable Japan to compete with the world’s superpowers. A prolific public speaker, Toshiko delivered her speech “Daughters in Boxes” in 1883 describing the trap that many Japanese families placed their unmarried daughters in by limiting their educational and professional opportunities and preparing them instead only for “suitable marriages.” This speech landed Toshiko in jail for eight days for speaking without a permit and for criticizing the government. However, her outstanding speech also motivated a generation of Japanese women to rise to action
Clara Zetkin (1857 – 1933) was the founder of International Women’s Day (1911) and the first leader of the German Socialist Women’s office. Zetkin first explored the Women’s Movement and the Labor Movement when she was studying to become a teacher in Germany in 1874. Because of the ban placed on socialist activity in Germany in 1878, Zetkin left for Zurich in 1882 and then went into exile in Paris, where she played an important role in the foundation of the Socialist International group. Her speech “Women’s Emancipation is Basically a Question of Women’s Work” (1889) was delivered at the International Workers Congress, synthesizing her ideas about women’s right to work and socialism.
Tawakkol Karman (1979 – Present) is a Yemeni journalist, politician, and human rights activists who founded the organization “Women Journalists Without Chains” in 2005. Her organization reports on human rights abuses in Yemen, advocates for journalists’ rights and freedoms, and provides media skills training. In response to her country’s political instability and human rights abuses, Karman chose to mobilize. In 2007, she organized weekly protests in Yemen’s capital, demanding inquiries into government corruption and other injustices. Later redirecting protesters to support the Arab Spring uprisings, she has become known to many as the “mother of the revolution,” the “iron lady,” and the international public face of the Yemini Uprising. Imprisoned several times for her outspoken words on behalf of democracy and human rights, she was awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 32, rendering her the youngest recipient of the prize to date, as well as the first citizen of Yemen, the first Arab woman, and the second Muslim woman ever to receive the honor. She was recognized for her nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work in Yemen. In her 2011 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Karman speaks of her vision for peace as the necessary foundation for achieving women’s rights.
Leymah Gbowee (1972 – Present) is a Liberian peace activist and Nobel Prize Laureate. Only 42, Gbowee has already seen her country ripped apart by two civil wars. Following the outbreak of the Second Liberian Civil War in 1999, she became fed up with the massive toll that violent conflict was taking on her country, particularly on Liberian women and girls. She turned this anger into action and founded the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace and organized Muslim and Christian women to band together to protest the ongoing civil war and the violent rule of then-President Charles Taylor. The women staged a sex strike, pray-ins, and various nonviolent campaigns that eventually led to Taylor’s exile from the country and the 2005 election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the President of Liberia, the first woman to be elected leader of an African nation. Gbowee is a single mother of six and heads the Gbowee Peace Foundation of Africa and Women, Peace, and Security Network of Africa. She won the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Tawakkol Karman, in 2011. Her speech “Unlock the Intelligence, Passion, Greatness of Girls (2012) was a TED talk that articulates her vision of peace and opportunity for girls.
Olympe deGouges (1748 – 1793) was a French playwright and political activist whose feminist and abolitionist writings were widely read. She is best known for her acclaimed essay the “Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen” (1791). This text, which she addressed in a pamphlet to Queen Marie Antoinette, was composed as a parallel text to the prevailing document that attested to the rights of French men. DeGouges argued in her declaration that French women must be given equal rights and implicitly criticized the government for failing to account for women. As an addendum to her essay, she included a sample marriage contract that would provide both sexes with equal rights to property. Later denounced as an “unnatural woman,” she was executed by guillotine during the Reign of Terror for her political affiliations and her attacks on the revolutionary government.
Kavita Krishnan (c. 1974 – Present) is the Secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association and a dedicated activist, writer, journalist, and speaker. On December 19, 2012, students and protesters marched towards the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit’s, house in protest of the rape culture in India, particularly in light of the gang rape and death of a 23-year-old woman, which drew world attention. While the police tried to ward off the protestors with water cannons, Kavita gave a speech (untitled) condemning the Chief Minister and the political establishment as responsible for the plight of women in India. Krishnan called for the repeal of gender-biased laws, the enactment of more gender-just laws, and an overhaul of the sexist mindset of the police force and the judiciary.
Jiaying Xu: “A Call to Save Women in Rural China from Suicide.” Jiaying Xu is a first year student at Smith College, who has general interests in art, architecture and culture. She has been conducting cultural research for three years, trying to protect local culture that is rapidly disappearing during the process of modernization. Meanwhile, she has learned sketching and brush painting mainly by herself through reading and practicing on her own. Since coming to Smith, she has also become an active member in the Debate Society, debating with students from different universities on issues covering religion, social justice, international relations, and so on. Debate made her realize the power of speech.
Angelina Grimke Weld (1805 – 1879) was a southern white American abolitionist and women’s rights activist who bravely defied her slave-holding family and community by writing a letter to William Lloyd Garrison, a key northern abolitionist and journalist, reviling the institution of slavery. Grimke’s insight and rebelliousness quickly propelled her into the spotlight, and to her family’s dismay, she toured the country speaking to both Southerners and Northerners on the ills of slavery. In 1836, she became the subject of further controversy as she began to appeal specifically to the women of the South to speak out against slavery. The following year she appealed to the women of the “nominally free” states of the North. In 1838, amidst a maelstrom of rocks thrown through the windows of Pennsylvania Hall by an angry mob, Grimke gave an inspiring, hour-long speech to the residents of Philadelphia denouncing slavery. Several times during the meeting the audience rose to leave, but each time, Grimke persuaded them to stay.
Aung San Suu Kyi (1945 – Present) is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Burmese human rights activist, and prolific public speaker, who spent 15 years under a government-imposed house arrest for advocating for democracy. Born in 1945 in Rangoon, the capital of Burma, she spent her youth abroad. Her return to Burma in 1988 coincided with the breakout of student protests against the political repression by the dictator U Ne Win, against which Suu Kyi also spoke out and initiated a nonviolent movement toward achieving democracy and human rights. She gave approximately one thousand public addresses throughout the country between 1988 and 1989, calling for democratic government. Her ongoing efforts, despite harassment and 15 years of house arrest as a result of her political activity, won her much international recognition including the Nobel Prize for Peace (1991). In 1990, while still under house arrest, she published her well-known essay “Freedom from Fear” to mark her acceptance of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Her speech, now famous around the world, discusses the role fear plays in corruption and proclaims that systems that deny basic human rights foster this kind of corruptive fear.
Elvira Arellano (1975 – Present) is a bold advocate for immigration reform who courageously resisted orders for her own deportation to Mexico in order to give voice to many. She was born in Mexico and emigrated, undocumented, to the United States in 1997. Arellano was ordered to appear before Immigration authorities in 2006 but sought asylum in Amor de Dios United Methodist Church, a supporter of the New Sanctuary Movement designed to provide refuge to illegal immigrants. She remained there for 12 months and later was arrested by Immigration authorities in Los Angeles during her attendance at a protest for Immigration Reform. A single mother, she defied the deportation order, criticizing the law for its harsh treatment of children and families (deportation would require separation from her son, born and raised as a U.S. citizen). She became the face of the New Sanctuary Movement, and though eventually deported, has continued to speak and mobilize other immigrants.
Manal Al-Sharif (1979 – Present) is a women’s rights activist from Saudi Arabia and is one of the primary organizers of the Women2Drive campaign, which advocates for women’s right to drive in her home country. In an act of civil disobedience, she garnered international attention in 2011 after posting a video of herself on YouTube driving. In retaliation, the Saudi Arabian government detained Al-Sharif and charged her with “disturbing public order” and “inciting public opinion.” She was released nine days later, after an international campaign on her behalf. She has continued to speak publicly and organize throughout Saudi Arabia, advocating for family protections, the annulment of male guardianship practices, and calling for the release of female prisoners in the Dammam women’s prison who are largely international domestic workers who owe the government small sums of money, which they cannot afford to pay. Her 2013 TED talk describes her experiences in the wake of her 2011 YouTube video.
Simone de Beauvoir (1908 – 1986) was a French intellectual, existentialist philosopher, and political/feminist activist who gave voice to the horrific torture of a young Algerian woman perpetrated by the French government. Beauvoir wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and social issues. During the Algerian War (1954 -1962), she presided over a committee of intellectual luminaries to defend a young Algerian woman, Djamila Boupacha, who was wrongly accused by French authorities of planting a bomb. Boupacha was arrested and tortured in 1960. The following year, Beauvoir, along with a well-known French attorney, Gisele Halimi, published several scathing articles in the popular French newspaper, Le Monde including, “For Djamila Boupacha.” Beauvoir’s detailed essays condemning the torture and calling for justice in honor of Boupacha were later published as a book.
Awa Thiam (1950 – Present) is a Senagalese intellectual and activist who co-founded the Commission for the Abolition of Genital Mutilation (CAMS), an international organization to combat female genital mutilation that is active in both West Africa and France. Thiam has written and spoken extensively on the conditions in which African women live. Thiam’s book “Speak Out, Black Sisters” (1986) gives voice to this horrific practice and stresses that the silence imposed on women can be broken only by women themselves. Her work with CAMS and her books have earned her an international reputation as one of the most important African feminist activists and intellectuals of her time.
Mary Brave Bird (1953 – 2013) was a Sicangu Lakota writer and activist who was a member of the American Indian Movement in the 1970s. She participated in some of the Movement’s most highly acclaimed events including the Wounded Knee Incident, a protest against the Oglala Tribal President and the United States government for failure to fulfill its obligations under treaties with Native American peoples. She was only 20 years old at the time. Brave Bird also published two memoirs–Lakota Woman (1990) and Ohitika Woman (1993)–that gave voice to her experiences as a Lakota woman, focusing in particular on the themes of gender, identity, and race. One of her memoires was later recreated as a film.
Anita Hill (1956 – Present) is an attorney and professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women’s Studies at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management. In 1991, Hill rose to international recognition when she courageously testified against U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas, alleging that he sexually harassed her when he served as her supervisor at the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Her testimony marked a pivotal moment in American history by bringing public attention to the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. As an African American woman speaking out against an African American man in front of a panel of 15 white male senators, Hill’s courage was doubly remarkable, as she risked the same criticism often leveled at women of color for speaking out against gender discrimination and violence—that of being a traitor to their race. Though Thomas went on to join the high court, Hill’s powerful words have been significant in transforming the conversation about what constitutes sexual harassment, raising awareness about this type of abuse on a global scale, and inspiring generations of women to speak their truths.
Fanny Lou Hamer (1917 – 1977) was an African American civil rights and voting rights activist known for her powerful speaking and her fervent belief in the Biblical righteousness of her cause. In 1962 her life changed dramatically when she attended a protest meeting where a group of civil rights activists were encouraging African Americans to vote. She joined a small group of African Americans to register themselves in Indianola, Mississippi, where they encountered resistance from law enforcement the entire way. She became an active member of the Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which organized acts of civil disobedience to fight racial segregation and injustice in the south, and later helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. She worked tirelessly throughout her life on behalf of justice, despite unimaginable injustices perpetrated against her in response, including imprisonment, assault, and forced sterilization. In 1963 she was detained by police and beaten so badly that she suffered permanent kidney damage. Her speech “We’re on our Way” (1964) delivered at a large Civil Rights gathering in Indianola, Mississippi tells her story and advocates for the rights of women and people of color.
Indira Ghandi (1917 – 1984) was a central figure of the Indian National Congress party and India’s first and only female Prime Minister. Serving from 1966-1977 and then again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, Gandhi became known for her political ruthlessness. She presided over a period where India emerged with greater power than before to become the regional hegemony of South Asia with considerable political, economic, and military developments. Gandhi also presided over a state of emergency from 1975 to 1977 during which she ruled by decree and made lasting changes to the constitution of India. In 2001, Gandhi was voted the greatest Indian Prime Minister in a poll organized by India Today. She was also named “Woman of the Millennium” in a poll organized by the BBC in 1999. Assassinated by two of her own bodyguards in 1984, she delivered the speech the “True Liberation of Women” (1980) four years earlier at the All-India Women’s Conference, advocating for the equal and fair treatment of women.
Benazir Bhutto (1953 – 2007) was a two-term Prime Minister of Pakistan and the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state. In 1982, at age 29, Bhutto became the chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party – a center-left, democratic socialist political party, making her the first woman in Pakistan to head a major political party. After completing graduated school at Oxford University, she went back and forth from London to Pakistan many times, and was eventually elected to the office of the Prime Minister in 1988 and then again in 1993 even after being dismissed by the President of Pakistan after her first term. Benazir sought to further modernize Pakistan, building schools and promoting accessible housing and health care. Noted for her charismatic authority and political astuteness, Bhutto drove initiatives for Pakistan’s economy and national security, and she implemented social capitalist policies for industrial development and growth. When she was again dismissed by the President, she lived in exile for nine years in London, but returned to Pakistan in 2007 despite threats from radical Islamists and hostility from the government. Poised to take the seat of Prime Minister once more, she was tragically assassinated in 2007, resulting in widespread grief and rioting throughout Pakistan. She was later posthumously awarded a United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights. Bhutto delivered her speech “Equality and Partnership” (1995) at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
Malalai Joya (1978 – Present) is a former politician and current activist who has been called the “bravest woman in Afghanistan” by the BBC based upon her unapologetic testaments against warlords throughout the country, including those in its government. She first gained international recognition for her speech condemning the warlords in Afghanistan in 2003 when she served as an elected delegate to the Loya Jirga convened to ratify the Constitution. She has survived four assassination attempts in retaliation to her writings and speeches. However, despite the adversity she has faced, Joya continues to write and speak on contentious political issues. In recognition of her efforts, she has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, amongst many other high honors.
Severn Suzuki (1979 – Present) is a Japanese-Canadian environmental activist, speaker, and television host. She has spoken around the world about environmental issues, urging listeners to define their values, act with the future in mind, and take individual responsibility. In 1992, at the age of 12, she delivered her “Address to the Plenary Session” at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, demanding that adults take responsibility for the environment, which their children will inherit.
Charlotte Aldebron (1990 – Present) was an American middle school student when she delivered her incredible speech, “What about the Iraqi Children?” at a peace rally in Maine in 2003. Her words call upon the U.S. government and war supporters to recognize the devastating impact of war on children. Her heartfelt message also forced her listeners to see that she was no different from the children living in war-torn Iraq since no child has the power to initiate or end war. She asked political leaders to redirect their efforts to peace talks as a means of protecting these children.
Rachel Parent (1999 – Present) is an American teenager and founder of “Kids Right to Know,” an organization which claims that consumers have a right to know what is in their food, seeks to raise awareness about the risks of genetically modified food, and advocates for mandatory labeling. After identifying the topic of accurate food labeling for a class speech assignment at age 12, Parent became passionate about the cause and began engaging in frequent public speeches on the subject. She later became a media sensation at age 14 when she stood up to business mogul Kevin O’Leary, an incendiary older male critic, on a televised interview, who critiqued not only her ideas but her integrity as a young woman to speak her own mind. Parent’s poise, persistence, and eloquence in the face of his attack are an inspiration to many.
Malala Yousafzai (1997 – Present) is a young Pakistani activist who began writing a blog for the BBC at the age of 11 to document her life under the Taliban and to advocate for girls’ right to education. She received global attention in 2012, when at the age of 15 she survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban. Upon her recovery, at age 16, she delivered a speech at the United Nations (2013) stating that fear and hopelessness died within her the day of the attack and that her courage and commitment to her cause were rejuvenated.
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