HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

We’re surrounded by epic women. From the past, present, to the future — we’re interconnected like the perfect pattern and together we rise even higher.

Stay positive, keep following your dreams and life will open new gates!

Women who stood up to be equal fought for their land and led revolutions. It’s a shame that we aren’t educated much on their names and accomplishments. These women paved paths. They’ve made sacrifices to build strong foundations for the roads we take today — constructing, advancing, inspiring and greatly affecting the world.

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 in her 2016 concession speech

So in honor of International Women’s Day, I want to talk about Ann Shen’s book. Representing a broad world of women coming from all eras, countries, backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. This is the Bad Girls Throughout History – 100  Remarkable  Women  Who  Changed the World.

I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard…we cannot succeed when half of us are held back. ― Malala Yousafzai

If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. — Margaret Thatcher

 

I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay. ― Madonna

 

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass. — Maya Angelou

Bad in the best sense of the word! She gives the perfect introduction urging readers that these short stories are meant to “whet your appetite for exploring more on your own.” I urge you to do the same.

Here are 5 badass women who left an epic mark on history and continue to influence our present and future:

➀ Lilith

It all started with Lilith, the lesser-known first wife of Adam who was kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

If memory serves me right, this was the first time I was hearing of Lilith’s significance. She refused to be subservient to Adam. While he wanted her to lie beneath him, she wanted to be next to him and considered an equal. I further went on to learn that while Eve was made from one of Adams’ rib, Lilith was created at the same time from the same dirt as Adam. Lilith has also been associated with the Moon Goddess and known as the “Mother of Children”. When Lilith left the Garden of Eden, she became associated with the archangel Samael.

We know of Lilith because she is represented as a demon in many religious mysticism texts; she is never mentioned in the modern Bible. It doesn’t get much more badass than getting rejected from the Bible, does it?

➁ Tomyris 

Queen of the Massaget, she ruled over a nomadic Eastern Iranian tribe in the 6th century. She is known for many things including murdering Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire.

By the time his reign reached her land, she was widowed but still fearless. Her warrior tribe was known for their battle skills and cannibalistic tendencies. And at first, Cyrus proposed to Tomyris in a thinly veiled attempt to seize her land. She rejected him, and he declared war.

Cyrus set up a trap that slaughtered her men and captured her son, Spargapises. She sent Cyrus a warning to leave her son and land, but Cyrus ignored Tomyris. Spargapises killed himself while being captive which further fueled Tomyris rage.

She retaliated in a fiery rampage that resulted in Cyrus’s decapitation and crucifixion. Legends say that she stuffed his head into a wine bag full of human blood and laughed, ‘I warned you that I would quench your thirst for blood, and so I shall.”

➂ Empress Wu Zetian

Rose to become the first and only female emperor of China in the 7th to the 8th century. She was one of the most effective and controversial monarchs in China’s history.

A tough cookie, known for her ruthless political ambitions. She made an epic difference by changing the imperial service ranking system to be based on talents instead of birth-right also including men of diverse backgrounds.

Zetian joined the palace at the age of 14 as a concubine to Tang emperor Taizong. It is said that she started to ascent by murdering her infant daughter and charging the crime to the existing empress — who was then cruelly executed. The stories do paint her as ruthless and yet written documents show us that she expanded China in a positive manner both globally and socially.

Since the level of her power and position was unseen in women of the time, it’s possible that the claims of her ruthlessness are greatly exgaerrated — then again, who isn’t afraid of a powerful woman who knows what she wants?

➃ Boudica

Boudica was a queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe who led an intense uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire during their golden age.

After the death of her husband, King Prasutagus, the alliance between the Roman Empire and the British island tribe fell apart and the Romans moved in, pilaging the island. Boudica was flogged and her two daughters were raped; this drove her to a bloody rampage for revenge.

She gathered more than 200,000 Brits and battled the Romans using brutal tactics — her trademark — decapitating and mounting their enemies heads onto their chariots. As a result, Boudica’s forces left an estimated 80,000 Romans dead in its wake and burned 3 major cities to the ground — including what is now London. Rome was in disbelief that a woman could lead such a rebellion. They took down her mob yet Boudica disappeared, never to be heard from again.

 

➄ Khutulun

Great-great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan. Athletically talented and politically savvy, her tribe believed she was blessed by the heavens so she rode into battle alongside her father, Khaidu, and was involved in his political campaigns. They never lost. When he passed on, he named her his successor over her 14 brothers.

Born in the 13th century into the 14th — she became a legend among the nomadic Mongol people as an undefeated wrestler of suitors. At its height, the Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous empire in human history, stretching from China to Europe and the Middle East.

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I hope you take some time to look into these women’s accomplishments, for their significance, and their braveries. I hope you recognize and celebrate the ones of today, and make sure you’re encouraging and cheering on for the ones who follow. Happy International Women’s Day! We rise by uplifting others. The more we give, the more room we have to receive.