In the honour of girls, every year on October 11, International Day of Girl Child is celebrated. It was first announced by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2011 to recognise the rights and challenges faced by the girls around the world. On this occasion, let us celebrate 10 powerful women who are leading change and making this world a better place.
Jacinda Ardern
The 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand has been appreciated for her handling of the Covid-19 crisis. Her response and compassion for the victims after the Christchurch mosque attack became an example for world leaders.
Greta Thunberg
The 17-year-old is one of the world’s most prominent climate activists. She is known for her emotionally blunt speech addressed to the world leaders where she said that they are failing the younger generation.
Jennifer Doudna
Winner of the Nobel Prize 2020 in Chemistry, Jennifer is an American biochemist. She has done pioneering work for the development of CRISPR-Cas9, a genome editing technology.
Emmanuelle Charpentier
The French scientist has been awarded the Nobel Prize 2020 along with her colleague Jennifer. The duo winning the Nobel prize shows the telling contribution of women in the field of life sciences.
Malala Yousafzai
This Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winner is the youngest Nobel laureate ever. Born and raised in Pakistan, Malala has recently finished her studies from the reputed University of Oxford.
Deepika Padukone
Bollywood star Deepika is the founder of an NGO called Live Love Laugh, which she launched in 2015 to raise awareness about mental health issues. She has also been quite vocal about mental health.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria is an American politician who supports progressive policies. She is known for raising the issues of the working-class Americans in the House of Representatives. She is seen as a liberal icon in American politics.
Jamila Bayaz
Colonel Jamila is the first female police chief of Afghanistan. Bayaz is an inspiration to many women in a country where officers in uniform are often targeted by terrorists.
Licypriya Kangujam
The 9-year-old Ienvironmental activist from Manipur has been pressing for the enactment of climate change law in India. In 2019, she protested outside Parliament to bring focus for a climate law. She also addressed world leaders at the UN climate summit in Madrid in 2019.
Reese Witherspoon
The Oscar-winning actress is changing the landscape of storytelling in Hollywood by producing female centric films like Gone Girl and Wild. Witherspoon was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Wild. Hello Sunshine, her production company, is also the force behind Big Little Lies, an acclaimed and Emmy-winning series.