Oct 11th was marked worldwide as the International Day of the Girl Child.
The girl child has come a long way, from the days of when girls were only groomed to be wives, mothers and home keepers, to the present world where girls have transformed into women of substance, world leaders, business tycoons, media moguls, film directors etc. Women can now attain the same level of success as men.
(picture credits: salvation army)
Still, there's more to be done, especially in third world and developing countries, where girls are turned into child brides, or forced to under genital mutilation due to cultural beliefs. We most all seek to ensure girls world over have the same opportunities as boys. It is said that if you educate a girl, you educate the nation.
In celebration of this day, I would like to highlight some women who give me inspiration, women who have broken boundaries. Women who can be looked at as role models.
1. Oprah Winfrey
This media tycoon needs no introduction. She is an epitome of self belief, strength and charity. From her days on the Oprah Winfrey Show, to OWN network. She is a very strong advocate for girl child education.
(picture credits: medium.com)
2. Theresa May - Prime Minister, United Kingdom
Love her or hate her, Mrs May, has carried the weight of the nation on her shoulders. She has shown tenacity and strong character even in the face of uncertainty due to Brexit.
(picture credits: capx.co)
3. Ava DuVernay
Movie lovers like myself will know Ava. She is an American movie director, who is the first black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award, for the film Selma. I watched her fantasy file "A wrinkle in Time", and I think all girls, irrespective of race should see that movie. Ava proves, that your never too old chase your dreams.
(picture credits: avaduvernay.com)
4. Serena Williams
If Serena doesn't motivate you, I wonder who will. She is an American professional tennis player. Serena has won an open record 23 grand slams. I admire her depth, strength, character off and on court, drive and consistency. She defines focus, she defines vision and she defines tenacity. I watched her #Nike "Just Do It" advert several times with tears rolling down my cheeks. If there is one person in the whole world I would like to meet, its Serena. (Yes, I said it, and desire it, and it shall be unto me, as I desire. )
(picture credits: wohspioneer.org)
5.Shonda Rhimes
If you ever watched "Greys Anatomy", "Private Practice", "Scandal" and more recently, "How to get away with murder"; then you must have heard of Shonda Rhimes. She created the strong women characters we see in Olivia Pope and Annalise Keating. She is an American television producer, screenwriter and author. She was named one of TIME magazine's 100 People Who Help Shape the World, and I couldn't agree less. Shonda is a woman who has it all. Her ability to manage her career and family is a driving force for me. I watched her TED talk (My Year of saying Yes to everything) and I have adapted it into my action-plan.
(picture credits: Ted.com)
6. Mitchelle Obama
When I have a daughter, I plan to call her mitchelle. That's so much an impact Mitchelle has in my life. She is an epitome of grace, character, finesse, strength and intellect. I cant wait ot lay my hands on her book, "Becoming". As the wife to the first black-American president in history, Mitchelle exemplified everything we want our girls to be. In 2014, Mitchelle Obama joined the campaign to bring back school girls who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. She tweeted a picture of herself holding a poster with the #bringbackourgirls campaign hashtag., thereby, drawing more attention to the plight to these girls. She is a strong advocate for Girl Education, and her popular quote "When they go low, we go high" keeps trending.
(picture credits: forbes.com)
Finally, a lot of women are doing great things locally within their communities, towns, cities and countries. Women are setting examples for young girls in business, health, technology, law, politics and science.
It is my desire, that every girl child born on this will experience true freedom, and be given the opportunity to dream and live their dreams.
What are you doing to help?
One Love
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to hear from you.