In light of yesterday's historic Women's March, which saw women from across the world marching for women's rights as well as civil rights, I wanted to keep the momentum going by talking about five badass women that I look up to. If you agree or have your own women to look up to, that's amazing. Women are the future and we will not be silenced.
1. Laverne Cox
Cox is an advocate for moving beyond gender expectations and living a more free and authentic life. As a transgender woman, she is an advocate for the LGBT+ community and speaks all around the country about issues she is passionate about. Recently, she is the executive producer of the documentary Free CeCe, which is about a transgender woman of color who was imprisoned in a men's prison in Minnesota. Cox is an activist, actress and badass woman.
2. Michelle Obama
During her time as First Lady, Michelle Obama, a lawyer and writer, launched several initiatives about the issues she is passionate about. First, in 2010, she launched the Let's Move Campaign which was a nationwide effort to combat childhood obesity. Later, she launched the Joining Forces initiative with Jill Biden which called on the American people to support service members, veterans and their families through wellness, education, and the opportunity for employment. After that she launched the Reach High Initiative which is meant to inspire young people to seek educational opportunities after high school and achieve their full potential. Finally, she and her husband launched Let Girls Learn, a US government initiative to help girls around the world get to school and stay in school. Though her time as FLOTUS is over, she and her husband have vowed to stay active in the political sphere of the US.
3. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
As the second woman to be appointed to the US Supreme Court, Ginsburg is a strong supporter of gender equality and is known for her moderate-liberal opinions on the Supreme Court. Ginsburg, in 1996, wrote the Court's decision on US v Virginia which held that the Virginia Military Institute could not refuse to admit women based on their gender alone. Recently, she was considered instrumental in the case of Obergefell v Hodges and had shown public support for marriage equality years before the case. In the early stages of the case, she challenged arguments opposing marriage equality. Furthermore, she is advocate for the separation of church and state, an incredibly important issue in US government.
4. Malala Yousafzai
Since 2009, Malala has been an advocate for education in her home country of Pakistan. However, her advocacy led to an attack by the Taliban which she survived and became even more of a global advocate for girls who are being denied their formal education because of social, economic, legal and political factors. She, along with her father, founded the Malala fund which brings awareness to the social and economic impact of girls' education and empowers girls to raise their voices and demand change. In 2014, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in education. She is the youngest person EVER to be a Nobel Prize laureate.
5. Ana Navarro
Republican strategist and political commentator, Navarro is a badass woman because of her outspoken opinions towards Trump. She publicly went against her party and voted Clinton and continues to speak out against Trump. Recently, she has criticized President Trump on his lack of Latino representation in his cabinet, the first in 30 years without Latino representation. She was the national Hispanic Chairwoman for John McCain in 2008 and the national Hispanic co-Chair for Jon Huntsman in 2012. She is a political commentator for various news outlets including CNN, ABC News and Telemundo.
