As we all know, March is Women’s History Month. This 31-day celebration of women’s accomplishments began as Women’s History Week in 1981 and extended to include the rest of the month in 1995. While educating the masses on these heroic figures throughout March is amazing, one crucial question remains: Why are women left out of our textbooks? There’s no doubt that they continue to play a vital role in the histories of each country, so why do we only know select names like Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony?
From groundbreaking scientists to courageous activists, here are eight legendary women from around the world that you should be celebrating this March.
- Fannie Barrier Williams (1855-1944)
Fannie Barrier Williams was an African American activist and educator who fought for the rights of freed slaves in the U.S. South. She helped found both the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). She was an avid supporter of the women’s suffrage movement, and she was the only African American to speak at prominent suffragist Susan B. Anthony’s funeral.
- Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928)
Emmeline Pankhurst was a British suffragette and the founder of the Women’s Social and Political Union. During her time as a bold and outspoken activist for women’s rights, Pankhurst was arrested 13 times. During World War I, she traveled to several countries to encourage women to industrialize and join the workforce.
- Josephine Butler (1828 – 1906)
Josephine Butler was an activist and social worker who focused on the rights of women and children. She campaigned against child prostitution and worked in a group that convinced British Parliament to raise the legal age of consent from 13 to 16. She also fought for the rights of sex workers and increased access to education for women.
- Marian Anderson (1897-1993)
Marian Anderson was an African American opera singer and one of the most famous contraltos of the 20th century. Anderson toured internationally and was asked by Eleanor Roosevelt to perform at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday in 1939. She was also one of the first African Americans to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- Marie Curie (1867-1934)
Marie Curie was a French-Polish physicist and a two-time winner of the Nobel Prize. The former established her as the first woman to receive the award. Curie was also the first woman to earn her doctoral degree in Europe and spent her career searching for a cure for cancer. She developed life-saving radiation treatments still in use today and even discovered the elements radium and polonium.
- Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927-2002)
Patsy Takemoto Mink was the first woman of color and first Asian-American elected to the United States Congress. She is the writer of the Title IX legislation that was signed into law in 1972, which bans sex discrimination in education programs and other activities. Mink was an advocate for equal rights, and in 1971 she was on the ballot for the Democratic presidential primary in Oregon.
- Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002)
Sylvia Rivera was a transgender woman that advocated for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The Puerto Rican and Venezuelan activist was involved in the 1969 Stonewall riots and fought for transgender Americans to be included in the Gay Rights movement. Her portrait was added to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. in 2015, establishing her as the first transgender activist to have her photo included.
- Junko Tabei (1939- 2016)
Junko Tabei was the first woman to climb Mount Everest and the Seven Summits, the highest peaks in each of the seven continents. She was also the first Japanese person to climb Everest. Along with being a climber, Tabei was an author and teacher. During her career, she took part in over 40 all-women climbing expeditions. She was also an environmental advocate and led several climbs with the purpose of cleaning up the environment.
Although known for different things, these eight women paved new paths for communities around the world. Their contributions to these communities and various professional fields continue to change the lives of women today, and without them, we wouldn’t have gotten half as far as we currently are.