In 1987, Congress declared that March would be National Women’s History Month. The month of March is when we take the time to celebrate the strong women who advocated to make life better for women in the United States. Women such as Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth and much more are often overlooked and underappreciated. 

As time passed, the accomplishments of women still fail to be noticed. Here’s a few women of all different ethnic backgrounds who have benefited society. 

Oprah Winfrey

At the age of 19, she was the first African American to read the main news on a channel in the city of Nashville. Since then she, worked her way up the ladder and has gained infamous success from “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” She did — and still does — a significant amount of charity, even creating her own foundation called the “Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation.” Their mission statement is “to lead, to educate, to uplift, to inspire and to empower women and children throughout the world, opening doors so that each person can begin to define what it would mean to lead their best life and fulfill their own possibility for greatness.” The charity’s focus is to support education for women, children and families in the United States. 

Malala Yousafzai

At the age of 11, this young girl was shot by Taliban soldiers. She kept a diary expressing her feelings about education and how the Taliban wanted to ban girls from becoming educated. Many people from all over the world read Malala’s thoughts and the Taliban did not like how Malala expressed her thoughts about the topic of girl’s education. After she survived this horrible incident, to this day she still continues to campaign for girls’ rights all over the world and inspires many. 

Ruvimbo Tsopodzi

In Zimbabwe, 15-year-old Ruvimbo was forced to marry a man that she did not choose to. Within a short time, she became impregnated by her husband, who was physically abusive towards her. In 2013, she joined an organization (Roots) that campaigined against child marriage. Ruvimbo Tsopodzi and Loveness Mudzuru took her case to the highest court in Zimbabwe, the Constitutional Court. The court ruled in favor of Ruvimbo, deeming that child marriage is unconsitutional. Ruvimbo continues her activism, as an ambassador for Roots. 

Rigoberta Menchú Tum 

Mayan K’iche’ (Mayan people who live in the midwestern Highlands in Guatemala) activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum fled to exile at the age of 21, after her father and other activists were killed in a fire. Their activism cost them their life. Rigoberta and her family gathered Guatemalans during the war against the Mayan people. While in exile, Rigoberta spoke publicly about the troubles the Mayan people faced in Guatemala. After receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Rigoberta returned to Guatemala and established the Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation which supports Mayan communities and survivors of the genocide as they seek justice.

The milestones that these women have completed are just a small fraction of all of the achievements that have been accomplished by women all over the world. These women fought for change and because of them, many people’s lives have been impacted. Some of these stories we’ve heard and some we have not. Each day women are fighting for us in the hopes to change the world, whether it’s in politics, on television, in sports, in the media, or in the music industry.  

The time to look over women, and not praise them for being strong, bold, and courageous is no more. It is time to give women the credit they deserve.  As Michelle Obama said, “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”

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Hi, I’m Maria McGinnis, a senior journalism student from Stow, Ohio. I’m also the editor-in-chief of A Magazine. My staff and I are committed to bringing you the most important and entertaining news from the realms of fashion, beauty, and culture. We are full-time students and hard-working journalists. While we get support from the student media fee and earned revenue such as advertising, both of those continue to decline. Your generous gift of any amount will help enhance our student experience as we grow into working professionals. Please go here to donate to A Magazine.