As we consider the recurring applauds geared towards the feminine folks the world over today, it is imperative to note the reasons for these felicitations from time immemorial as I can recall.
It’s not a question of who’s the reason for whom, who’s the reason for what? It’s a question of who is the natural incubator for who, not a question of who is responsible for who? You see humanity can’t be at equilibrium without the feminine gender. We are both very important in the sphere of influence so to speak.
Think of the processes with these womb-man-woman; from interceptions, conceptions, gestations, lactations, dedications, and the preparations of the fetus to baby, child to teen, adolescent, and a responsible adult. It’s breathtaking to imagine it.
Most messages best communicated around are via music. A reasonable percentage is channeled to these genders, due to the enormous impact observed over time still counting.
It behooves one to imagine what gave the BBC the need to seek public opinion on which woman has had the biggest impact on world history, both famous and lesser-known.
From Marie Curie who changed the world not once but twice. Born in Warsaw, Curie studied physics at university in Paris where she met her future research collaborator and husband, Pierre. Together they identified two new elements: radium and polonium, named after her native Poland. She founded the new science of radioactivity (recall your Physics teacher asking you to calculate half-life? Even the word was invented by her – and her discoveries launched effective cures for cancer, still relevant in the health sector.
In 1955, Rosa Parks, an African-American living in Montgomery, Alabama, challenged the racial segregation that existed in parts of the US by refusing to give up her seat on a bus so that a white person could sit down. Her protest was supported by many other African-Americans and sparked the civil rights movement which, in the 1960s, eventually won equal rights. Four years after her death in 2005, Barack Obama became the first African-American US president. What a stride!
In 1903, the social reformer Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union to campaign for the parliamentary vote for women in Edwardian Britain, ‘Deeds, not words’ being its motto. A charismatic leader and powerful orator, Pankhurst roused thousands of women to demand, rather than ask politely, for their democratic right in a mass movement that has been unparalleled in British history. Always in the thick of the struggle, she endured 13 imprisonments, her name and cause becoming known throughout the world. These were women who got guts and showed grit for the emancipation of their populace.
It’s worthy to note that Business Insider Africa last December, published Forbes 2021 where Okonjo-Iweala, Samia Suluhu, and Mo Abudu were the three most powerful women in Africa.
Of course without Mrs. Aniefiok S. Sunday; my very mother, I won’t be scripting this article in honor of all good women out here and beyond today.
Women change the narrative as who runs the world echoed by Beyonce. We love you all.
Leta stop the bias, yes we can and should, happy international women day✌🏻
Umoh Samuel is an IT student from the University of Calabar with CrossRiverWatch
NB: Opinions expressed in this articlee are strictly attributable to the author, Umoh Samuel and do not represent the opinion of CrossRiverWatch or any other organization the author works for/with.