Celebrating Women's Day and feeling inspired by the words of the brilliant Maya Angelou - her words below and her deeds live eternally.
"Pretty women wonder where my secret lies?
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Maya Angelou
There are phenomenal women all around us and here we share some with you.
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa is Catholic nun and founder of the Sisters of Charity who spent her long life working among the poorest of the world's poor and devoted her life to aiding lepers, the sick, and the needy in Calcutta and around the world.
Anne Frank
Anne Frank was a victim of the Holocaust, the author of “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” and a human rights advocate through the publication of her diary. Despite dying, aged just 15, at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945, Anne’s diary inspired thousands of people all over the world and gradually became a symbol of suffering humanity, which despite its burden still believed in human values and the basic goodness of human beings.
Waris Dirie
Somalian fashion model, author, and women’s rights activist known for her efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM), also called female circumcision. In 1997 she was appointed as the United Nations Population Fund’s special ambassador for the elimination of FGM. In this capacity Dirie traveled and spoke extensively, vigorously pursuing her goal of preventing future generations of women from suffering as she had.
Angelina Jolie
Jolie is noted for her humanitarian efforts, for which she has received a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and an honorary damehood of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG), among other honours. She promotes various causes, including conservation, education, and women's rights, and is most noted for her advocacy on behalf of refugees as a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Kavita Ramdas
Kavita Ramdas is the past President of the Global Fund for Women and current Strategy Advisor for MADRE, a global women’s rights organization that works to support women on the front-lines of war and disaster. She is a leading advocate for gender justice and respected thought commentator on critical global and domestic challenges. Kavita founded and leads KNR Sisters, a consulting venture for social justice movements and philanthropy and is an accomplished public speaker.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey embodies an inspirational, ambitious, self-driven woman that makes a perfect example of a strong, independent individual. She has broken down the barriers of a male-dominated industry and paved the way for other women to follow in her footsteps.
Oprah uses her status as a platform to highlight global issues such as poverty and child abuse. Through her charity organisation, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation she has donated millions of dollars to provide help for people in countries across the globe.
Kirron Kher
Apart from being a National Award winning actress, Kirron Kher is a Member of the Indian Parliament, and a leader for several non-profit movements including Laadi (a campaign against female infanticide) and Roko Cancer (a campaign for cancer awareness.) She also has confidence to speak about what is right like women’s rights, honour killings, and unjust censorship of valid documentary in front of the government.
Princess Diana
Diana had a tremendous impact on modernizing the royal family, making it more accessible and changing people’s opinions about what the royal family meant to them. Not only she did say what was on her mind, but she also took on causes that the royal family would not normally take on, such as homelessness in the late 1980s. Diana helped open the UK's first purpose-built HIV/Aids unit at the London Middlesex Hospital and would talk with people who were living in tents or under bridges while cameras followed her, saying, “If I’m going to have cameras pointed at me the whole time, I might as well use all this publicity for good.”
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya has earned a name in Bollywood that most actresses die for. Ash became the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
Rai is the brand ambassador for The Eye Bank Association of India's nationwide campaign to promote eye donation in India. Along with other members of the Bachchan family, she laid the foundation of a special school for underprivileged girls in Daulatpur village and supports PETA India.
Rai is the brand ambassador for The Eye Bank Association of India's nationwide campaign to promote eye donation in India. Along with other members of the Bachchan family, she laid the foundation of a special school for underprivileged girls in Daulatpur village and supports PETA India.