Just For Fun – The Women That Inspire Me

The month of August in South Africa is known as Women’s Month. We celebrate the special day on the 9th of August and remember the 20000 brave women who staged a protest against the proposed amendments to the Urban Areas Act back in 1956 outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria. 

There are so many other inspirational women in the world. All of us have our favourites. So in honour of Women’s Month here is a list of women that inspire me :

The Model– Natalia Vodianova.

Natalia was born in the poor district of the town Nizni Novgorod which is situated in Russia. She was raised by a single mother and was discovered at a local market, while selling fruit to help her families income. She has since gone one to become one of the most successful models of all time, having appeared in over 175 runway shows and appearing on the cover of British and US Vogue a couple of times. She also found the Naked Heart Foundation which helps build play areas for children in urban Russia and also helps families who have children with special needs.

The Local Darling – Charlize Theron

Okay so obviously Charlize is close to my heart because we both grew up in Benoni 🙂 She has made South Africa so proud of her, not only because she is one of the most amazing actresses of all time and won the Oscar for her role in Monster, but she also started the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project which helps keep African youth safe from HIV/AIDS by supporting community-engaged organisations that address the key drivers of the disease.

The Business Woman- Natalie Massenet

If you are now sure who she is- Natalie is the founder of the online shopping heaven that is Net-A-Porter. I think she is absolutely brilliant for coming up with such a wonderful concept and expanding the world of online shopping

The Fashion Guru- Anna Wintour

If she does not inspire you, you are not human.

The Sports Woman- Natalie du Toit

The amount of things this girl has achieved is just incredible. She has competed in the able-bodied Olympics and the Paralympics and has won several gold and silver medals. I think she is just so amazing and brave, and she is definitely a woman to look up to.

The Family Member – My mother

My mom had me when she was just 18(on the bright side she is only 41 now and I am almost 23). She did not give up her studies and went on to get her Masters in Electrical Engineering while raising me(with my dad). For a while, she focused on just being a mom, but when we moved here, she was the only one who could speak English and she was the sole provider for the family for that time. She is also a published author in Russia, and has written 4 books. Yes, I have a lot to live up to!

These women inspire me to be a better person,do more and dream bigger. Tell me, who inspires you?

PS: I only noticed now, that 4 of the women have the same- Natalie. I guess I have a special attachment to that name since it is my mothers 🙂