By: Cristina Castaneda
Writers, scientists, actresses, politicians or aviators, among other professions. There are many women who have changed history in the time they lived and who have played a fundamental role in the development of events. Great revolutionaries who, day by day, broke with what was established in each of their fields and, also, in society. Brave women who paved the way for so many others who, in their fight for equality, have made the world a fairer place
1 Coco Chanel (1883 – 1971)
This great designer completely revolutionized the world of fashion and haute couture in a particularly difficult time: the interwar period. He managed to break with the corseted clothes of the Belle Époque. It gave a new twist to women’s clothing, which, from its emergence in fashion, began to be more comfortable and informal. Thus, it freed women from corsets (literally and metaphorically) and cumbersome adornments that limited their movements.
2 Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)
This American aviator became famous for attempting the first aerial trip around the world over the equator. Amelia became a world hero idolized by the masses. It promoted a profound debate on women’s rights and gender equality in the first decades of the last century. Earhart founded an organization for women aviators, The Ninety-Nines, in 1929. She was a professor of Aviation at Purdue University, was a columnist for Cosmopolitan magazine and campaigner for women’s rights. Despite not having been able to fulfill her dream of going around the world by plane (although she came very close to achieving it), Amelia Earhart went down in history for her courage and bravery and for being a pioneer in the fight for gender equality. Rights.
3 Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954)
Mexican painter who has become one of the great references of current feminism. Frida Kahlo not only revolutionized the world of art, but also that of politics. A friend of prominent national and international artists, Frida is so important that she was the first artist from this country to present one of her works at the Louvre Museum. His political ideas were revolutionary at a time when women were considered the weaker sex.Frida defended the cause of indigenous people in Mexico and, as part of her national feeling, recovered their symbols and traditions in her work.
4 Anne Frank (1929 – 1945)
Known worldwide thanks to her Diary, Anne Frank was a German Jewish girl who lived almost two and a half years hiding, with her family and four other people, from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II. Ana was sent to the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz on September 2, 1944 and, later, to the concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen, where she died of typhus in March 1945. In her diary she recorded all her suffering and the that the Jewish people suffered.Trying to posthumously fulfill Anne’s wish to become a writer, expressed in the Diary, Otto Frank, her father and the only survivor of the family, decided to publish it. Over the years, it became a worldwide symbol of the fight against Nazism.
5 Margarita Salas (1938-2019)
The biochemist Margarita Salas was a pioneer in the history of science and research in Spain. She was one of the best Spanish scientists of the 20th century and among the many achievements of her career, the discovery of the DNA polymerase of the phi29 bacteriophage virus, crucial in biotechnology, stands out. It allows amplifying DNA more quickly, easily and reliably. It is applied in forensic medicine, oncology and archaeology. Currently, this patent continues to be the most profitable of the CSIC and thanks to it, millions of euros have been invested in research.Throughout her career she was awarded several times and received both national and international awards. Among them are the Mendel Medal, the Ramón y Cajal National Award, the L’Oreal Unesco Award and the Echegaray Medal. In addition, she was the first Spanish woman elected as a member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2007
