Inspirational women are all around us. Some have celebrity status and use their voice for good. Others are quiet achievers that work to make a difference in their community. Here at Rafiki Mwema we’ve created a list of inspirational women that have had an impact on us.
Inspiration can come in many forms. It can emerge from a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures and actions. Inspirational women may be those that we see has having immense courage, having overcome obstacles and challenges to help others. It may be those that display deep empathy and model equality. Or those that believe in collective power to facilitate change and uplift others.
Some of our favourite inspirational women
The vulnerability, strength and power of our Queens in Kenya inspire us everyday. Those that are on the journey of healing and those that help them. These ladies have overcome challenging circumstances and are now working to improve their lives and the lives of those around them.
In the spirit of acknowledging inspirational women, we recently asked our team of volunteers to share a selection of the women that inspire them.
– Oprah Winfrey –
As one of the few black billionaires in North America, Oprah has used her wealth to become the greatest black philanthropist in American history. As an entrepreneur, she’s had enormous success, including becoming the first the first woman in history to own and produce her own talk show.
– Melinda French Gates –
Melinda Gates has been a committed philanthropist for decades, with a focus on empowering women and girls. She’s co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, founded Pivotal Ventures to support young women to start technology careers and launched the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge to empower women of colour.
– Malala Yousafzai –
Malala was shot by a gunman when she was 15 years old. She was speaking out for the right of women to gain an education in a Taliban-controlled areas of Pakistan. Despite her ordeal, Malala has never given up. She continues to fight for women’s rights and does so without hatred or anger.
– Yusra Mardini –
She was just 17 when she, her sister and two others who could swim, helped guide a sinking dingy of Syrian refugees to safety. After settling in Germany, Yusra went on to compete in swimming events at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Today, she’s a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR and is hoping to compete in the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
– Faith Bandler –
She tirelessly campaigned for ten years to bring about the 1967 Referendum to amend the Australian Constitution, and spent her life championing the rights of Indigenous Australians and South Sea Islanders.
– Ruth Bader Ginsburg –
Having led an exceptional life and career, Supreme Court Associate Justice RBG built an impressive legal legacy as a pioneer in gender equality. A quiet crusader, she was led by the belief that the law was gender blind and all groups are entitled to equal rights.
– Vandana Shiva –
Indian environmental activist, feminist and anti-globalisation proponent. She fought for the rights of every human being to a safe and secure world full of community, health and abundance. And doing it with so much grace!
– Emma Watson –
She uses her privilege and voice to speak up for those without one. She is a UN Ambassador for the HeforShe campaign to fight for gender equality across the world and helped launch Time’s Up, a charity raising awareness/money to combat sexual harassment in the workplace.
– Catherine Hamlin –
Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist who went to Ethiopia with her husband in 1959. She dedicated her life to helping women who had suffered fistulas in childbirth. She and her husband co-founded the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital.
– Rosa Parks –
A symbol of the civil rights movement and an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. By embracing passive resistance and displaying non-violent opposition to authority, her actions launched efforts to end racial segregation of public facilities.
Want to find out more?
Feeling inspired? Head to the following links for more information on these inspirational women.
