Women who have inspired me

Famous women who inspire me

There are several women who inspire me, but I want to share some famous women in this blog.Here is my list and biography about these famous top 11 women. Reading their life stories have encouraged me to work hard and have taught me to never give up.

Malala Yousafzai– Malala is a Pakistani girl who is an activist for girls education and is the youngest person to get the Nobel peace prize. She fought against the Taliban for girls’ education and was shot in the head by the Taliban. She survived that attack and now lives in England.She is famous for her books, movies and blog. She started writing blogs when she was in Pakistan but with a different name. So nobody knew it was her. Malala has inspired me since I was 6 years old. I have read books about her life and watched documentaries many times.She continues to fight for girls education in many countries. I salute her courage and perseverance for a great purpose.

Note: When I was 7, I was so impressed by Malala’s work that I wrote 10 pages about her in creative writing class during Summer school. I was so fascinated by her life that I read her book ‘I am Malala’ many times.

Greta Thunberg- Greta Thunberg is a swedish teenage girl( born on January 3,2003) who is an environmental activist .She has some mental health challenges because of Asperger syndrome, but this doesn’t stop her from achieving her passion.She is trying to make the earth a better place for future generations . She has earned the’ Right Livelihood award’ and has many books written. Thunberg is one of the famous people I want to meet. She is inspiring many people and even challenged world leaders including President Donald Trump by her words. Her ‘how dare you?’ The speech has gone viral and is motivating many kids to fight against climate change and global warming .

Aisha Chaudahry– If you have watched the bollywood movie “ The sky is pink” , you probably know Aisha Chaudahry. It is a movie about a girl who is born in India and has combined immunodeficiency, just like her sister who died very young. She had to undergo a bone marrow transplant when she was a baby. Many years later, she has pulmonary fibrosis as a complication and dies young. She was on a TED talk in 2014. She died in 2015 the day after her book was published. Fun facts are that her father is the CEO of Panera (Niren Chaudahry) and that she has written a book called “My little epiphanies” (but I have not read the book) . Another interesting fact is that her brother Ishaan made a song called ‘For Aisha’ sung in memory for her by EVAN GIIA and MEMBA. She is one of the young girls to fight against serious illness with a smile and giving the lesson to be positive in life . She has given me the passion for art and creativity. Her ted talk on youtube is inspirational and is the best one I have watched! She talks about life, death and true happiness.

Note: you can watch the Movie on Netflix : Name is ‘The Sky is Pink ‘.

Michelle Obama– Michelle Obama was the First Lady of the USA before current First Lady Melania Trump. She is very inspiring and I admired her work more after I watched the documentary “Becoming” on Netflix .Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is a lawyer and author, who was the first lady between 2008 to 2017. She has two daughters Malia and Sasha. She went to popular schools like Harvard and Princeton. When she was in high school, her guidance counselor thought she was good for nothing and she would never make it to a good school.But that never stopped her. She made her way to amazing schools in the United States and achieved everything she aimed. She has taught me to believe in myself.She is intelligent, confident and compassionate.

Note: you can watch ‘Becoming’ on Netflix.

Amelia Earhart– Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviation pioneer and the first girl aviator to fly an airplane. She has earned many awards, set many records and has written best selling books. She was married but had no children. She always said that she wanted to fly for as long as she could. She went to Columbia university and her teachers described her as a “Bright and ambitious student”. I can tell she was ambitious because she was the first female to fly an airplane. She has inspired many girls to pursue this career. Here is my favorite quote from her:

“Adventure is worthwhile in itself”
– Amelia Earhart

I am impressed by Miss Earhart’s courage and the ability to realize her dreams. She had a dream to fly and she realized her dream of flying.Unfortunately Earhart disappeared on July 2nd 1937 due to a plane crash and was found and declared dead on Howland island in 1939. She has inspired many people to believe in yourself. I was always fascinated by Earhart’s achievements and accomplishments.

Helen Keller (1880-1936)- Helen Adams keller was an American Author who was diagnosed with both blindness and deafness only at the age of two. She was born on June 27 1880. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor arts degree. She is also known for her inspiring books and novels like’ The story of my life’ that was published in 1903. Helen Keller’s achievements are important because she showed that deaf and blind people deserve respect and equal opportunity . She inspired many kids with disabilities. She taught them to be strong and to have self esteem. Helen was supported by Anne Sullivan. Anne Sullivan was an American teacher who taught Helen Keller from her childhood to her adulthood. Anne Sullivan helped Keller be successful. She helped her in writing her books and supported her throughout her life. Anne Sullivan Macy, was born on April 14 1866. At the age of five, she was diagnosed with trachoma(infection of eyes),which makes her blind. When Sullivan was young, her mom died of a severe lung disease. She faced many trials in her lifetime, going from blind in an orphanage to a successful teacher that helped change the world of teaching for the blind. Born on April 14, 1866 in Feeding Hills, MA, Anne Sullivan was born into a world of poverty.. It was only after several operations that Anne regained some of her sight. On October 20 1936, Anne Sullivan died of Coronary thrombosis. But she was an inspiring person and made Helen Keller one of the best deaf/blind people! She is an example that a good teacher and mentor has the power to make a big difference. She was the force behind Helen Keller’s success.

JK Rowling (July 31 1965- present)- Joanne Rowling also called Jk Rowling,. is a British author and is the author of the ‘Harry potter series’, ‘Fantastic beasts’, ‘tales of beedle the bard’ and some other adult books. She has won many awards and people have even made movies and play out of her books. Before she started writing, she was a secretary in Amnesty International when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series while on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990. The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother, birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and relative poverty until the first novel in the series, Harry potter and the philosophers stone in 1997. There are six sequels and her last book was Harry potter and the deathly hallows in 2007.
J.K Rowling is an inspirational writer because she encourages children, creates a strong role model for women, and shares her imagination and generosity with growing teens and does charities. JK Rowling’s books have taught me about bravery, friendship and fantasy. Now because of her books, I love fantasy books and believe in the power of imagination. My favorite quote by JK Rowling is:
“We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine better.
JK Rowling

Florence nightingale– Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War , in which she organised care for wounded soldiers. Florence nightingale’s life teaches us care, empathy and compassion.

Mother Teresa: Mother Teresa (Agnes gonxhe bojaxhiu) was born in a little town called Skopje, which is a modern day Macedonia. Her father Nikola, was a very successful business man and a missionary, and her mother was Drana, a housewife. As a little girl, Agnes (Soon as Mother Teresa) was a very disciplined , thoughtful little girl, who didn’t seem to mind helping others. One day, her father had returned from Calcutta (Present day Kolkata in India )when Agnes was 12, she felt the call of god and god had told her to help others around the world. On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Holy See to start her own order, “The Missionaries of Charity”, whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. In 1965 the Society became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI. Mother Teresa then went to Calcutta India and other parts of India to help poor and sick peoples in the slums. Mother Teresa was first called Sister Teresa but then several people liked her work and called her Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa earned several awards including the nobel peace prize. At the age of 87, Mother Teresa passed away due to old age and sickness in india.

Madame Curie(1867- 1934)
Marie Curie, a famous scientist,grew up in Warsaw, Poland where she was born on November 7, 1867. Her birth name was Maria Sklodowska, but her family called her Manya. Marie became fascinated by rays that were recently discovered by scientists Wilhelm Roentgen and Henri Becquerel. Marie named one of the elements polonium after her homeland Poland. She named the other radium, because it gave off such strong rays. The Curies came up with the term “radioactivity” to describe elements that emitted strong rays.
In 1903, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Marie and Pierre Curie as well as Henri Becquerel for their work in radiation. Marie became the first woman to be awarded the prize.

In 1911 Marie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the two elements, polonium and radium. She was the first person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes. Marie became very famous. Scientists came from around the world to study radioactivity with Marie. Soon doctors found that radiology could help with curing cancer. Marie died on July 4, 1934. She died from overexposure to radiation, both from her experiments and from her work with X-ray machines. Today there are lots of safety measures to keep scientists from getting overexposed to the rays. She dedicated her life in discovering things that is used now everyday in the hospitals to save lives. She had to face many challenges in her journey as a woman scientist, but she never gave up.

Rosa Parks(1903-2005) – Now during this period of protests against racism I want to remember Rosa Parks. It is a time to share a story about a brave African American woman who refused to give up her seat to a white person during the time of segregation. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an american activist in the civil rights movement known as the Montgomery bus boycott. I believe that Rosa Parks is the one of bravest woman I have ever heard of because she was jailed for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man, a violation of the city’s racial segregation laws. Parks was in the first row of the black section when the white driver demanded that she give up her seat to a white man. She fought against segregation.
I like her quote:
“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right”
Rosa Parks

If you want to learn more about these inspiring women read the book series,’Who is….?’ or watch show called’ Who was?’’ on Netflix. Or borrow books on them from the local public library.

One thing that is common among all these women is ‘perseverance’ , which means the ability to work continuously for something you believe without giving up.I know that international women’s day was months ago in March but I think we can celebrate life of these women everyday.The list of inspiring famous women is very long but I want to share life stories of few that have influenced me since childhood. There are several other women who are not famous but have influenced me in some way. It includes my teachers, family and family friends. However, you will agree with me that the most inspiring woman for us is our mother.
I hope you liked this blog and by now you have your own list of people who inspires you.


Credits: Wikipedia, google, who was? Series and several websites.