International Women’s Day also celebrates the achievements of women and there have been many important contributions and services to humanity by women throughout the ages. Many women throughout history have been famous for their courage, success and achievements. Here are few of the relatively more famous and influential ones from the past two centuries.

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)

She was a British nurse who brought pioneering improvements in her profession by stressing on the need for better hygiene and cleanliness in hospitals. She also acted as a statistician and social reformer while saving many lives, particularly wounded soldiers, through development of better nursing methods.

Helen Keller: (1880–1968)

Helen Keller became blind, deaf and mute at an early age. Still she overcame all odds to become an author, lecturer and political activist. More importantly, she became an inspiration for not only the disabled, but for all humanity, as she set an example of how to defy the odds.

Fatima Jinnah (1893 – 1967)

Mader-e-Millat (Mother of the Nation), was a dentist by qualification, but she devoted her life in the creation of Pakistan, supporting her illustrious brother, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and promoting democracy and civil rights.

Resourceful, upright and of unshakeable resolve, Fatima Jinnah was an important figure in the struggle for independence and promotion of democracy even after the death of her brother. She was the first female presidential candidate of Pakistan, against Ayub Khan, in the election of 1965. Understandably, the whole ruling machinery worked to make sure the result went in their favour, but it won’t be wrong to say that had Fatima Jinnah been elected in on January 2, 1965, perhaps Pakistan’s history would have been very different.

Bilquis Bano Edhi (born 1947)

Bilquis Bano Edhi and her late husband, Abdul Sattar Edhi, are responsible for the largest social welfare setup in Southeast Asia. Currently leading the foundation since her husband’s passing away, she has played a leading role in looking after the ladies sections of the Foundation, which also takes care of orphans and abandoned children. A nurse by training, she married Edhi in 1966 and together they established shelters and homes. They have saved innumerable lives through their medical aid and ambulance services.

Dr Ruth Pfau (1929 – 2017)

Dr Ruth Pfau dedicated her life to treating leprosy patients in Pakistan since she was sent here in 1960 at the age of 29 by a medical mission. She founded the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC) in all provinces of Pakistan. She travelled to various parts of Pakistan to facilitate leprosy patients. It was due to her efforts that, in 1996, the World Health Organisation declared Pakistan one of the first countries in Asia to have controlled leprosy. German by birth, she was granted Pakistani citizenship in 1988, and was the recipient of various awards.

Marie Curie: (1867–1934)

Marie Curie was a Polish turned French physicist and chemist. She is best known for her pioneering work on radioactivity and winning two noble prizes in two separate sciences of Chemistry and Physics.

Eleanor Roosevelt: (1884–1962)

She remained the longest serving First Lady of the USA from 1933 to 1945. She was instrumental in writing the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She was a political activist, humanitarian and spokesperson for the rights of women, black people and the poor people.

Asma Jahangir: 1952 – 2018

Asma Jahangir, the Pakistani human rights lawyer and activist who recently passed away, was a woman born only once in a country’s lifetime. She defied all odds, stood up against all forces and stared down at all kinds of dangers right in the face to support the rule of law and the oppressed. Enough has been written by both her admirers and critics to decipher the enigma that was Asma Jahangir, but perhaps the simplest way to describe her would be to call her a crusader against injustice.

Arfa Karim Randhawa: 1995 – 2012

At the age of 9, in 2004, Arfa Karim Randhawa became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCPs) in the world, a title she kept until 2008. This exceptionally bright girl was even invited by Bill Gates to visit the Microsoft Headquarters in USA. Arfa Karim has also represented Pakistan on various international forums, and is the youngest recipient of the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. At the age of 16, when Arfa was in A Levels, she suffered cardiac arrest after an epileptic seizure on December 22, 2011 and passed away on January 14, 2012.

Malala Yousafzai: (born 1997)

Malala, a Pakistani we all know, is an advocate for children’s rights particularly the right to education. She, a Noble laureate, survived after being shot by Taliban over her fight for education for girls. Women have proved that they can do anything and be successful in every sphere of life. History bears evidences to this fact. It is about time that the women are given their rights and their due share of opportunities in life.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 3rd, 2018