Celebrate the Woman in You

 Celebrate the Woman in You

Did you know that there is a special celebration on March 8? That’s right. Every year since 1914, International Women’s Day is held. However, it was only officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977. The main purpose of this celebration is to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. This is why today we will be discussing some powerful women around the world.

1. Amelia Earhart (1897-1939)

Amelia Mary Earhart was the first female American aviator who flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean. When she saw her first plane at a state fair at the age of 10, she wasn’t interested in aviation at all. However, after attending a stunt-flying exhibition around a decade later, she knew that she had to fly.

Even though everyone around her disapproved of her behavior, she kept chasing her dreams. She also made a scrapbook about successful women in predominantly male-oriented fields. Earhart then finally took her first flying lesson in 1921 and managed to buy her first plane six months later. She named it “The Canary” and used it to set her first women’s record by rising to an altitude of 14,000 feet.

Later in 1928, Earhart got an offer to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic. Long story short, she and her team succeeded and made headlines around the world because three pilots had died while trying to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. 

2. Junko Tabei (1939 - 2016)

Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer, author, and teacher who became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. When she decided to do the expedition, she also had to make a difficult decision to leave her three-year-old daughter and husband behind. However, she finally proved to the world that women are capable of so much more.

In 1969, Junko founded the mountaineering club called “Joshi-Tohan” which only accepted women as members. At that time, Japanese women are considered more suitable to work in the domestic areas or work as a secretary. As a result, Joshi-Tohan faced many critiques and difficulties in gaining a sponsor.

When Junko started her expedition to climb Mount Everest, she couldn’t receive any sponsor because society thought that she was doing a careless act. Throughout her expedition, she also faced some difficulties, such as an avalanche that rendered her unable to walk or even climb. On 16 May 1975, Junko and her team finally reached the summit. From this expedition, she became the first woman as well as the 36th person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

3. Katherine Johnson (1918-2020)

Katherine Johnson made great leaps for humankind. She was one of the NASA ‘human computers’ whose job is to do difficult mathematics analysis with just pen and paper. Her biggest achievement is to calculate the trajectory of Alan Sheppard’s spaceflight.

In 1969, Katherine used her genius mathematical skills to yet again analyze the trajectory on a different spaceflight. Her analysis had successfully landed Neil Armstrong on the moon. But yet again, her services weren’t recognized until the release of the movie Hidden Figures in 2016.

Not many people know the stories about these women. However, the most important thing is that people have to know and acknowledge women as powerful and capable human beings. Therefore, let us celebrate their achievements, impacts, as well as the chances they gave to women all over the world to shine even brighter. Happy International Women’s Day!

Written by Aurelia Regina Putri/ XA2