At the age of 16, Sonita Alizadeh found out she was to be sold into marriage. Propelled to do something by this experience and the experiences of other women around her, the young Afghani woman turned to rap music. Alizadeh now uses her music and her convictions to end child marriage and to fight for the rights of women and girls all over the world.
As an activist, community organizer, and executive, Burke has been widely recognized for her work, and was named Person of the Year by TIME Magazine in 2017.
Victorian English feminist and social reformer who campaigned for women’s suffrage, the right of women to better education, the end of coverture in British law, the abolition of child prostitution, and an end to human trafficking of young women and children into European prostitution.
Carol June Young Specht was a Past President of the local League of Women Voters, President of Women Against Rape (WAR), and co-founder of the Coles County Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She advocated with a passion for victims of rape and domestic violence during the mid-twentieth century.
Although it was very dangerous for African Americans to speak out against white people during the Jim Crow era, Recy Taylor refused to remain silent about sexual violence. She bravely testified against the group of white men that kidnapped and raped her.
Model, author, actor and activist Waris Dirie worked for the United Nations from 1997 to 2003 as a Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. She had written several books on the subject, and in 2002 launched her own non-profit, the Desert Flower Foundation, which raises money to increase awareness about FGM and to help those affected.
Susan Joy Fowler is a writer and software engineer known for influencing institutional changes in how Uber and Silicon Valley companies respond to sexual harassment.