​International Women's Day has been celebrated around the world since the early 1900s. It was created to bring attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. Now it is a globally celebrated event used to raise awareness and celebrate women all around the world.

Working with us at Prosper4 and Resume Foundation, we are proud to have as part of our team these inspiring young women who wanted to share with you what being a woman means to them.

Idil

Being a woman to me means power, strength and courage. Women like Fatima Al-Fihri are a big inspiration to me, she established the concept of university as we know it today and founded the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University (world’s first university) in AD859.

Her idea for an educational hub that provided opportunities for advanced learning spread throughout the world. Women today have incredible examples of women to look up to throughout history who have provided the blueprint on how to improve the world and bring new perspectives.

Today we celebrate them and every woman from every walk of life.

Anna

International women's day is a day to honour women around the world for the contributions we make to society. Like many things, without women, International Women's Day would not even exist!

On this day I acknowledge that this present moment in time is the best time to be a woman, and I am so grateful for the women who suffered for us to get to this point. However, I can also recognize that we still have a long way to go to achieve gender equality globally.

Being a woman means being inspired by other women each and every day. Every time we choose to celebrate and support another woman in our life, we are actively stepping away from our internalised misogyny that has been ingrained in us by society. Some people's argument for why women shouldn’t have the same rights as men is that we think and feel differently. But I would argue that having a diverse society and workplace filled with people with different mindsets and backgrounds working together can lead to greater things than before. I feel privileged to be a woman and will be celebrating that on the 8th March 2022 and every other day!

Isatu
Women are superheroes!

I mean who bleeds every month, some for a few days and some for even longer than a week, and survives that? Talk less of the cramps some of us even endure in those few days. Can you imagine carrying a whole other human in your stomach for nine whole months, physically swelling up like a balloon and then going through childbirth? Women are superheroes!

The love and care women are capable of giving is beyond anything in this world. We are strong even on our weakest days and we are beautiful even on the days we don’t feel it. And the beautiful thing about all of this is that we don’t even have to search far for it. It's all within us!

Happy International Women’s Day, superheroes!

Beth

Being a woman is about breaking down stereotypes, showing people that what they see isn't always the complete person. Blonde, tanned, girly girl is what they first see.

In reality, I'm a badass rugby player.

Rebecca

Being a woman means standing up for the values that we hold and making sure that every woman can enjoy their own life in the way they want to. It means being a hero for change.

I think of the wonderful women before me and what amazing examples they have set for us. We are stronger than the world gives us credit for and it is important that we show this.

Casey

Being a woman to me in my past has mostly meant being too much - this is what I was always taught in my teenage years by a variety of people. Being told I was too talkative and too outgoing used to affect me and how I felt.

But being labelled as ‘too much’ doesn’t affect me now the way it used to; I am proud to be labelled talkative and outgoing. I am now unapologetically me, especially in environments where people would expect me to be quiet until I am spoken to. It means I have the freedom to make my own choices without the fear of being belittled or reprimanded for the choice I have made.