My parents and I are currently house-sitting for family friends in Southern California. Our friends have a six-year-old girl, a two-year-old boy, and a perfect German Shepherd named Baxter. I am staying in the girl’s bedroom. There are flamingo-patterned sheets, kindergarten writing assignments on the wall, and baskets and baskets of toys. Pretty standard. However, her bookshelf catches my attention. Sure, there are the regular books about baby wombats and mothers who will always love their children, but many of the books are about activism and female role models. I see titles like The Little Book of Little Activists, She Persisted, and Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. There are even Early Reader biographies of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Frida Khalo and Michelle Obama.
Although I grew up being taught to be kind to others and proud of myself, I wasn’t born into a time with such a mainstream focus on feminism, equality, and social justice. Because of the newly politically active climate that came with the 2016 presidential election, young girls in 2020 are being taught to fight for what they believe in before they can even produce the words to express those beliefs. This “new normal” is exactly what is necessary if we are to change our world: young girls knowing their worth and having strong female role models to look up to, especially ones who are diverse in age, race, and advocacy issues.
While the books are an amazing step to raising a passionate feminist, many of the role models I saw on the shelves were American women who are already in positions of power. There are so many women who have accomplished just as much with less recognition. With that in mind, I have compiled the following (far from complete) list of incredibly inspiring, hard-working and diverse female role models. Hopefully, by the time my six-year-old friend is my age, these women’s names will be found on the bookshelves of other young activists.
Malti Tudu
Malti Tudu is a 22-year-old activist from India’s Bitar state. She is one of a small group of women in Bitar who are working against the hundreds of child marriages that take place every year in rural Indian states. Tudu leads groups of women on journeys to visit the homes of young girls who are about to be married off, and tries to talk the parents out of the ceremony. If the persuasion doesn’t work, the group organizes a boycott of the wedding, and works on convincing the village not to participate. Her work has already freed many girls from the violence and oppression that comes with child marriage, and she often helps the girls continue with their studies and finish school.
Angela Doyinsola Aina
As a Black woman, Angela Doyinsola Aina knows the risks of childbirth for women of color, and has been fighting for racial/gender equality in healthcare for nearly four years. Black women are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth than white women, and yet, there are very few people advocating to change this statistic. Aina started Black Mamas Matter in 2017, an organization that has helped pass legislation, such as the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act of 2018. Along with pushing for legislation, Aina uses her organization to empower black mothers and protect them from the ridicule their parenting so often receives.
Whitney Stephenson
In the summer of 2016, then 16-year-old Whitney Stephenson co-founded Teens Take Charge, a New York-based organization that helps public school students advocate for a better education. Over the years, Teens Take Charge has gathered students from over 30 schools across all five boroughs to speak in meetings with policy makers and official hearings. Stephenson and her co-founder, Nelson Luna, structured the organization to help educate students on racial and socioeconomic inequity in the school systems and to try to affect change on a legislative scale. Along with education and advocacy, Teens Take Charge organizes protests and walkouts for other issues, helping students have a voice in their community and on their campuses.
Dubravka Šimonović
In 2015, Šimonović became the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. However, she has been fighting for human rights and the safety of women since 1994, when she sat as the Head of the Department for Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Croatia. Earlier this year, Šimonović spoke to the UN about the importance of protecting female journalists, especially in countries that are unsafe for both women and reporters. Dubravka Šimonović has written several books and articles on violence against women, and is continuing to educate governments around the world about the dangers women face in everyday life.
Kimberly Teehee
Teehee is a 53-year-old Cherokee woman from Oklahoma. She has been advocating for Native American rights since law school, where she co-taught a class on federal Indian law. After law school, she went on to represent Native American issues at the DNC (Democratic National Committee). Currently, she is waiting to be seated in Congress as a constitutionally promised delegate for the populous Cherokee tribe. The guarantee of this delegate has been in our Constitution for 184 years, but has never been upheld. Once Teehee is officially seated, she will not have a vote, but will provide a voice for the 400,000 Cherokee citizens living in America. In an interview with Little Village, Teehee stated that her first focus will be pushing for mandatory federal funding for tribal nations. However, she will continue to provide legal aid and support to Native American tribes outside of her duties as a delegate.
