Students pose with painted faces at a college in Chennai, India, ahead of International Women's Day, March 7, 2017. Getty Images/ ARUN SANKAR
International Women’s Day is that time of the year when women celebrate who they are and how far they have come with regards to achieving gender equality.
Apart from brushing up our knowledge on the women’s suffragette movement, the revolutionary invention of the contraceptive pill, and the most recent outcries against sexual harassment — the #MeToo and Time's Up movements — March 8 is also a day to look at improvements that can still be made by women in every section of life.
Here are a few inspirational quotes from female leaders women have inspired many over the ages, from Hello Giggles, Metro and Brainy Quote:
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” — Oprah Winfrey
“To all the little girls who are watching, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.” — Hillary Clinton
“There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.” — Michelle Obama
“I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.” — Nora Ephron
“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” — Malala Yousafzai
“The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all.” — Aung San Suu Kyi
“All over the world, young males and females, schooled in the art of patriarchal thinking, are building an identity on a foundation that sees the will to do violence as the essential way to assert being.” — Bell Hooks
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” — Simone De Beauvior
“I am a woman with thoughts and questions and shit to say. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story.” — Amy Schumer
“I don't like to gamble, but if there's one thing I'm willing to bet on, it's myself.” — Beyoncé
Women chant slogans during the 'Ni Una Menos' march for International Women's Day, outside the Argentine Congress in Buenos Aires, March 8, 2017.Getty Images/ JUAN MABROMATA
“Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case, you fail by default.” — J.K. Rowling
“A man told me that for a woman, I was very opinionated. I said, 'For a man, you're kind of ignorant.'” — Anne Hathaway
“I think women are scared of feeling powerful and strong and brave sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. It’s not the absence of fear, it’s overcoming it and sometimes you just have to blast through and have faith.” — Emma Watson
“I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femininity. And I want to be respected in all my femaleness. Because I deserve to be.” — Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
“We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes — understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” — Arianna Huffington
“If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” — Margaret Thatcher
“Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” — Amelia Earhart
