Last week the Huffington Post ran an article titled “6 women over 50 who inspired us in 2014.” The list contains exactly one inspiring person — Jamila Bayaz, who became the first female chief of police in Afghanistan.
That’s an accomplishment, but it is overshadowed by what else “inspired” Huffington Post writer Yagan Shah: Two aging celebrities who are still considered beautiful, a world-record holding swimmer who was on “Dancing with the Stars,” Michelle Obama because she does yoga, and of course, Ariana Huffington because she’s Shah’s employer.
So I decided to construct my own list of inspirational women based on my reporting from this year — and I didn’t limit it to women over 50. My hope is that learning about the amazing things these women have overcome and are working toward, one may gain some perspective.
1. Malala Yousafzai
If you haven’t heard of this young woman yet, you need to get up to speed. Shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in October 2012 while riding the bus home from school, Malala made international headlines. She was targeted because at the age of 15 she was already a known advocate of educating girls in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Her attempted assassination merely made her cause more popular.
The following year, she gave an inspirational speech at the United Nations, was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and won the human rights award known as the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. This year, she won the Nobel.
Malala, now 17, never let the attack dissuade her from her advocacy work. Her website, Malala.org, continues to advocate for the education rights of women and girls around the world. She has met with world leaders, including President Obama, to discuss education. She knows that without access to education — a basic human right — women have no chance for equality.
2. Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Despite being branded an Islamophobe by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and having her honorary degree rescinded by Brandeis University, Hirsi Ali continues to fight the real war on women.
Her foundation seeks to educate lawmakers and police about the dangers of radical Islamic practices in the United States, including female genital mutilation, forced marriage and “honor” killings.
She also believes that American feminists need to stop concentrating on “trivial bullshit” and start focusing on the basic human rights abuses women face around the world.
3. Meriam Ibrahim
Ibrahim’s ordeal began when she married a Christian man. Even though she was raised as a Christian, under Sudanese law she was considered a Muslim because her father was one, and interfaith marriage was forbidden.
Her own family turned her in to the police, who arrested her for the crime of leaving Islam and also for adultery because her marriage wasn’t recognized by Sudanese courts. For this she was sentenced to hang — until an international outcry forced Sudan to overturn her conviction and set her free.
Her long road to freedom ended in August when she arrived in New Hampshire, where her husband lives.
Ibrahim wasn’t just standing up for her right to practice her own faith, she was standing up for every woman who is arrested and sentenced for breaking unjust laws.
4. Jaha Dukureh
Dukureh underwent female genital mutilation when she was just one week old. She grew up not knowing anything was wrong until she was forced into a marriage at the age of 15, brought to the United States, and discovered she couldn’t have sex with her husband.
After surgery that allowed her to have sex, Dukureh was able to become pregnant. But she was not able to give birth even with the new surgery. She had to be cut open for each birth.
Dukureh faced an abusive husband who refused to let her obtain an education. When she left that marriage she was disavowed by her family and community. She eventually called her father in Gambia and asked him to find her a new husband — one she would stay with no matter what.
Luckily, her new husband was much more supportive. Dukureh now is a leading figure in trying to eradicate female genital mutilation around the world and was instrumental in persuading the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to study the extent of the problem in the United States.
5. Rep.-elect Martha McSally
McSally narrowly defeated incumbent Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., in the November midterm elections, helping to bring her into the spotlight and make more Americans aware of her inspiring story.
McSally was the first woman to fly in combat for the U.S. Air Force. In 2002 she sued then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld because female military personnel in Afghanistan were required to adhere to local customs including wearing burqas and being accompanied by male guardians in public. The Pentagon announced it would lift the requirement but claimed that had nothing to do with the lawsuit.
6. Christina Hoff Sommers
The “factual feminist” was on point this year, debunking statistics surrounding campus sexual assault and the gender wage gap. It was her research that personally inspired me to look critically at every study and every claim that seemed too astounding to be true — and even to question statistics that my own bias led me to believe were true.
Her greatest cause this year was #GamerGate, and she became a hero in the movement to prevent gaming ideas from being censored by the feminist community.
She speaks with authority and poise, never sounding like she’s angry or lecturing — a persona many have yet to master.
This article has been updated since publication.
