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Women who changed the world

12 March 2012

Since we celebrated International Women’s Day this month, we decided to celebrate women who pushed boundaries and changed the world.

By Zimkhitha Sulelo

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	1. Albertina Sisulu: 1918- 2011 Her contribution: Albertina Sisulu, also known as 'the mother of the nation’, was an anti-apartheid activist and the only female delegate at the official launch of the ANC Youth League on 10 September 1944. She was one of 20,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 9 August 1956 in protest against the apartheid government's requirement that women carry passbooks. She was also the first woman to be arrested under the General Laws Amendment Act of 1963. At the time of her death she had been committed for over 50 years to The Albertina Sisulu Foundation, which works to improve the lives of small children and old people. In her words: 'Women are the people who are going to relieve us from all this oppression and depression. The rent boycott that is happening in Soweto now is alive because of the women. It is the women who are on the street committees educating the people to stand up and protect each other.'
	2. Coco Chanel: 1883-1971 Her Contribution: Coco Chanel was an influential French fashion designer, founder of the famous brand Chanel and the only designer to be named on Time 100: The Most Important People of the 20th Century. In the 1920s, she launched her first celebrated perfume, Chanel No. 5. She freed women of corsets and other confining garments of that time. She gave women pants and a little black dress. She made black chic, which is a colour that was previously associated with mourning. In her words: 'You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life.' 'If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.' Picture source.
	3. Rosa Parks: 1913-2005 Her contribution: Rosa Parks was an African American Civil Rights activist. She is most known for her refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger in Alabama. Her act of defiance spurred on a city-wide boycott and helped launch nation-wide efforts to end segregation of public facilities. In her own words: 'Each person must live their life as a model for others.' 'I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.'
	4. Diana, Princess of Wales: 1961-1997 Her contribution: Princess Diana also known as 'The People's princess’ used her high-profile status to raise awareness and funds for over 100 charities that supported people living with AIDS; homeless people; youth; drug addicts and the elderly. Before she died she strongly supported to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a campaign which won the Nobel Peace Prize only a few months after her death. In her own words: 'I'd like to be a queen in people's hearts but I don't see myself being queen of this country.' 'Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.'
	6. Marie Curie: 1867 - 1934 Her Contribution: Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. Her award was in Physics, along with her husband Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel, for their studies of radioactivity. When her husband died, she was refused a government pension so she took his place as a professor at the University of Paris. She was awarded a Nobel Prize for her work at the university and became the first person to win a second Nobel Prize. In her own words: 'Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.' 'Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.'
	7. Nadine Gordimer: 1923- Her Contribution: Nadine Gordimer is a South African writer and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was active in the anti-apartheid movement and joined the African National Congress when the organisation was banned. She has recently been active in HIV/AIDS causes. In her words: 'Responsibility is what awaits outside the Eden of Creativity.' 'The truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is.'
	8. Amelia Mary Earhart: 1897–disappeared 1937 Her contribution: She was the first woman to fly a plane across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928. She also wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences. She was the driving force behind the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organisation for female pilots. She toured America to counsel women on careers and help inspire others with her love for aviation. She was also a member of the National Woman's Party, and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. In her own words: ' The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune.' 'Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.'