Did you know that March was Women’s History month? If you didn’t, I don’t blame you. I wasn’t aware of its existence until very recently. If you did know about it, maybe you have witnessed a few Facebook posts questioning why we need it. “Why isn’t there a Men’s History month?” and “What’s the point of this month when you can just read a history textbook?” have made several appearances on my homepage, and I have struggled to bite my tongue in fear that I would start a petty argument in the comments.
If you’re confused as to why this month is so important, maybe you should watch this video.
Believe it or not, women’s accomplishments and struggles are often not discussed well enough in most history classes. Microsoft has done a great job in shedding light on this problem, but there’s still so much more work to do in the context of women’s history. As the young girls revealed in the video, being aware of female inventors made them feel as if they could become inventors themselves. When young girls don’t have any examples to look up to in fields that they are interested in, self-doubt takes over.
So let’s talk about accomplished women.
Let’s talk about Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist fighting for female education, and the youngest person to win a Nobel Peace Prize for her work with human rights advocacy.
Let’s talk about Condoleezza Rice, the first female African American secretary of state.
Let’s talk about Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for her revolutionary development of the theory of radioactivity.
Let’s talk about Lucy Stone, Sarah and Angelina Grimke, Maya Angelou, Grace Hopper, and so many more influential and historical women.
Women, let’s ask questions and do research. There are so many accomplished women to look up to. Let’s start working towards our dreams and become those accomplished women for future generations to follow.