{"id":161582,"date":"2014-03-31T14:49:05","date_gmt":"2014-03-31T14:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.one.org\/us\/14-inspiring-women-and-the-inspiring-things-they-said\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T17:38:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T17:38:58","slug":"14-inspiring-quotes-for-womens-history-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.one.org\/us\/stories\/14-inspiring-quotes-for-womens-history-month\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Inspiring women and the inspiring things they said"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Mary Scharffenberger<\/strong> and Anna Lemberger<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Women\u2019s History Month comes to a close, we thought we\u2019d take the opportunity to round up some inspiring women activists who have both inspired us and made it possible for us to succeed in the work we do. May their words resonate through time and continue to inspire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Kishida Toshiko<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kishida Toshiko<\/a>\u00a0was a writer, women\u2019s rights activist, and Japan\u2019s first female orator. She began lecturing when she was just 20 years old! She was well known for her speech \u201cDaughters Confined in Boxes\u201d that criticized a family system that confined women at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Carrie Chapman Catt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Carrie Chapman Catt helped revitalize the suffrage movement and ratify the 19th Amendment in 1919, which guarantees all women the right to vote. Not really that long ago, ladies!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Mother Teresa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maybe one of the most famous women on this list, Mother Teresa established the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, in 1950. These sisters ran hospices and homes for people with HIV\/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis at a time when such people were treated as outcasts by most of society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Rosa Parks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rosa Parks is known as the \u201cfirst lady of civil rights.\u201d Her arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger led to the game-changing Montgomery Bus Boycotts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Eunice Shriver<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s just something about those Kennedys and Eunice Kennedy Shriver is no exception. Shriver founded the Special Olympics in 1968 in honor of her sister, Rosemary, who had an intellectual disability. She firmly believed that if people with intellectual disabilities were given the same opportunities as everyone else, they could achieve far more than anyone thought possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dolores Huerta<\/a> was first inspired towards activism while she was an elementary teacher in California. She noticed that many of her students, children of farm workers, were living in poverty without enough food to eat. Together with Cesar Chavez she founded the United Farm Workers Union and helped get Spanish-language ballots for voters, among other accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Celia Cruz<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Known as the \u201cQueen of Salsa,\u201d Celia Cruz was one of the most influential figures in the history of Cuban music. Although she\u2019s not a traditional activist, her life was devoted to spreading Cuban music and culture which earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Eleven years after her death, she\u2019s still a pioneer; Cruz was honored as the first Latin artist<\/a> on the Apollo Theater\u2019s Walk of Legends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Known as Africa\u2019s \u201cIron Lady\u201d, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first female head of state on the continent of Africa. She has been working tirelessly ever since to strengthen the institutions of national security and good governance in her home country of Liberia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Ces\u00e1ria \u00c9vora<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ces\u00e1ria \u00c9vora is one of the greatest African vocalists of all time and was a WFP Ambassador Against Hunger<\/a>. She was known for appearing barefoot on stage in support of the poor of Cape Verde. And we just love her soulful voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Aung San Suu Kyi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Can you imagine being locked away in your room for 15 years? Me neither, but it happened to this lady! Aung San Suu Kyi began speaking out in favor of the protests and rallies against the dictator U Ne Win and his policies, focusing her speeches on democracy and human rights. In retaliation U Ne Win\u2019s military junta put Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest with no communication with the outside world for almost 15 years. That certainly didn\u2019t silence her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Leymah Gbowee<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In collaboration with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee helped bring a period of peace to Liberia through her leadership of a women\u2019s peace movement. Her efforts enabled a free election in 2005 that gave the presidency to Sirleaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Rebecca Lolosoli<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca Lolosoli<\/a> helped establish the Umoja Women\u2019s Village in Kenya after she was beaten for speaking up for victims of rape. She continues to fight for women and their right to make decisions and own land and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. Chrissie Wellington<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m always inspired by female athletes, mainly because I\u2019m extremely un<\/em>-athletic. Wellington is a record-holding triathlete. Retired now, she\u2019s working to advance women in cycling by calling for a women\u2019s Tour de France. She is also passionate about development and spent time in the conflict-affected west of Nepal working on water and sanitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. Malala Yousafzai<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A strong advocate for girls\u2019 right to education, Malala was shot in the head by Taliban in 2012 after refusing to give up on her campaign. She survived and came back strong, starting the Malala Fund to help girls around the world reach their true potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to be a president or cultural icon for your voice to matter. Take action with ONE today.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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We rounded up inspiring women and activists who have both inspired us and made it possible for us to succeed in the work we do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"165724,165261,164315,163702,163526,163436","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[46],"contributor":[68],"one_content_audience":[],"one_content_type":[],"one_content_tone":[],"class_list":["post-161582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-girls-and-women","contributor-guest-blogger"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n14 Inspiring women and the inspiring things they said - ONE.org US<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.one.org\/us\/stories\/14-inspiring-quotes-for-womens-history-month\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"14 Inspiring women and the inspiring things they said\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Women\u2019s History Month comes to a close, we thought we\u2019d take the opportunity to round up some inspiring women and activists who have both inspired us and made it possible for us to succeed in the work we do. 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