21 amazing women who changed the world for the better

For so long, so long, being a woman was synonymous with not having rights. They could not study, work, vote, or be interested in anything but childcare and layette. Just to give you an idea, in the Middle Ages, many men removed their left testicles, certain that only the right produced sperm capable of producing a male child. Yeah.

Fortunately, some things have already changed in this regard in most parts of the world, even though many women are still repressed and raped just because of their gender. Here's a list of great women who have made important social, cultural, and scientific contributions to humanity.

1 - Marie Curie

It is impossible to study chemistry and physics without talking about Marie Curie, the Polish woman made famous by her research on radioactivity. It is also worth remembering that this woman has achieved the feat of winning the coveted Nobel Prize - twice.

2 - Malala Yousafzai

You have probably heard of Malala, the Pakistani girl who is also the youngest person to be awarded a Nobel Prize. For her struggle for women's rights to education and the symbol of strength and endurance she has become, due to her personal experience (she was shot in the head when she was just 14), Malala more than deserves to be on that list.

3 - Kathrine Switzer

She was the first woman to participate in the famous Boston Marathon in 1967. In the image above you can see the moment when men from the event's organization, when they saw that a woman was participating, tried to stop her from running.

4 - Margaret Heafield

See this girl in the picture? Yeah. She worked as director of software engineering for NASA. Basically, she was one of those responsible for the Apollo Project, one of the most important of the space agency.

5 - Valentina Tereshkova

This Russian woman was the first woman to travel to space in 1963 on the Vostok VI mission.

6 - Onna-Bugeisha, the samurai woman

Onna-Bugeisha was the name by which the samurai warriors of Feudal Japan were called in the late 19th century.

7 - Amelia Earhart

Amelia was the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean in 1928.

8 - Komako Kimura

This suffragette woman fought for women's right to vote and also participated in the march held in New York in October 1917.

9 - Eliza Leonida Zamfirescu

See this girl in the picture above? She was the first female engineer in history.

10 - Rosa Parks

This is a very important name in the fight for human rights. Rosa's name is commonly quoted when we talk about activists who fought against racial segregation - she is known for refusing to give her seat on the bus to a white man.

11 - Sofia Ionescu-Ogrezeanu

This Romanian woman was the first neuroscientist and neurosurgeon in the world.

12 - Anne Frank

The Jewish writer made a brilliant and extremely sad portrait of her family, who had to hide from Nazis, and you have probably heard about her.

13 - The Protector

This woman was photographed in 1990 in Armenia while protecting her home with a rifle. At the time of the photo, she was 106 years old.

14 - Nadia Comaneci

This athlete was the first woman to score 10 in Olympic gymnastics during the Olympic Games and became a sport legend, and had to fight hard to show her talent.

15 - Maud Stevens Wagner

She was the first US-registered tattoo artist in 1907.

16 - Mary Winsor

In the image, taken in 1917, she appears holding a sign that reads: “Asking women for freedom is not a crime. Suffragette prisoners should not be treated as criminals. ”

17 - Annette Kellerman

For proposing that women wear an outfit like she is wearing in the image above to go to the beach or pool in 1907, she was arrested on charges of “indecency”.

18 - Bertha Von Suttner

She was the first female activist to receive a Nobel Peace Prize.

19 - Suu Kyi

This woman was forced to face house arrest for 15 years. The reason? She ran a pro-democracy campaign.

20 - Nisia Floresta Augusta

Nisia was the first Brazilian to fight for female emancipation. She is considered a forerunner of feminism in the country and is also recognized for her commitment to literacy for girls and women. Nísia Floresta was also one of the first women to publish articles in Brazilian newspapers, and was the translator of Mary Wollstonecraft's feminist manifesto, "Women's Rights and Injustices".

21 - Maria Lacerda de Moura

If we debate issues today about conscious motherhood, free love and women's right to love, we can thank Maria Lacerda de Moura, a Brazilian from Minas Gerais. Dedicated to social causes, she also served as an educator in both Minas Gerais and São Paulo and worked for the national and international anarchist press.

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Of course there are so many amazing women, and this post would be too big if we talked about all of them. Anyway, if you remember any specific big women, tell us in the comments!

* Posted on 1/9/2015