In honor of March being Women’s History Month, I wanted to bring attention to five activists that every person should know about. These people have made incredible changes in society and should be celebrated.
- Malala Yousafzai
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Malala Yousafzai fought for girls’ education starting in 2008 in her home country of Pakistan. The Taliban had taken over her hometown and decreed that girls were no longer allowed to go to school.
Yousafzai used her voice to speak out against this unfair treatment and was targeted by the Taliban. They shot her on the school bus in October 2012.
After months of rehabilitation, she joined her family in their new home in the U.K. Yousafzai decided she would continue to fight until every girl could go to school.
Yousafzai and her father established the Malala Fund in 2014 to give girls the opportunity to achieve their dreams. In recognition of her work, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2014.
Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel laureate to date. She continues to fight for girls’ access to education today.
- X González
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X González is a survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The shooting is the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.
González co-founded Never Again MSD with 20 other survivors of the shooting. Never Again MSD is a political activism committee that advocates for tighter gun control to reduce gun violence.
González gave the viral speech “We Call B.S.” at a gun control rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 17, 2018, three days after the shooting. González also organized March for Our Lives in 2018, a student-led organization that leads demonstrations in support of gun control legislation.
March For Our Lives continues today. Its last public demonstration was in 2022 in Washington D.C. after the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
González is an activist who should continue to be recognized for their efforts to increase gun control in the U.S. to prevent school shootings.
- Elizabeth Smart
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Elizabeth Smart gained national attention after her abduction at age 14 in Salt Lake City, Utah by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. She was held captive for nine months before being rescued by police in Sandy, Utah.
After her abduction, Smart became a child safety activist. In 2011, Smart founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to bring hope and end the victimization of individuals from sexual assault through advocacy and education.
Smart also created Smart Defense in 2019, a self-defense program for women and girls. Smart has continued to advocate for child safety and sexual assault prevention through the executive production of films that shed light on child abductions.
- Ruby Bridges
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Ruby Bridges was the first African American child to attend an all-white school in New Orleans during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis of 1960. Her attendance at William Frantz Elementary initially caused protest, but integration was eventually established within the school.
As an adult, Bridges continues to be an activist as the chair of the Ruby Bridges Foundation, which was formed in 1999 to promote the values of tolerance, respect and appreciation of differences. In Bridges’ words, “Racism has no place in the hearts and minds of our children.”
Walk to School Day is recognized by the California legislature annually on November 14. It seeks to commemorate Bridges’ famous steps through dialogue and activism to bring an end to racism and other forms of bullying.
- Mariska Hargitay
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Mariska Hargitay is best known for her portrayal of Captain Olivia Benson on “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” Her long-term portrayal on the show inspired her to become an advocate for individuals who have experienced sexual assault.
Hargitay founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004. The mission of the foundation is to “transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever.”
Hargitay also became a certified rape counselor after founding the Joyful Heart Foundation. In 2018, Hargitay released the Emmy-award-winning documentary “I Am Evidence,” which shed light on the thousands of untested rape kits in the U.S. and the quest to end the backlog of these kits.
Hargitay continues to advocate for survivors of sexual violence today through The Joyful Heart Foundation and her continued portrayal on “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” as Captain Olivia Benson.
I hope learning about these activists and their accomplishments inspires you to go out and create change in your own communities during this Women’s History Month.