You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns, with the certainty of tides. Just like hopes springing high, still I’ll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, weakened by my soulful cries?
Related News
Does my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard. ‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines, diggin’ in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise? That I dance like I’ve got diamonds at the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame, I rise. Up from a past that’s rooted in pain, I rise. I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear.
I rise into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear. I rise bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave. I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise, I rise, I rise.
From And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, 1978.
We Rise Together
Every year on March 8, the world pauses to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. International Women’s Day (IWD) is not just a moment of recognition but also a call to action—an invitation to accelerate the fight for equality, justice, and opportunity. In the face of adversity, women across the globe have continually risen, breaking barriers and redefining possibilities. Inspired by Maya Angelou’s powerful poem, Still I Rise, international Women’s Day is a testament to the resilience, strength, and unwavering spirit of women everywhere.
Throughout history, women have faced systemic discrimination, violence, and inequality. Yet, they have persevered. From the suffragettes who fought for voting rights to the women leading social justice movements today, the journey has been one of courage and determination. Women in science, politics, business, and the arts have shattered glass ceilings, proving that talent and ambition know no gender.
Despite progress, challenges remain. The gender pay gap persists, women continue to bear the brunt of unpaid care work, and gender-based violence remains a critical issue worldwide. But women rise. They rise in boardrooms and classrooms, in protests and parliaments, in laboratories and courtrooms. They rise not only for themselves but for future generations, ensuring that the world they leave behind is more just and equitable.
The fight for gender equality is not the responsibility of women alone. It requires collective effort—men, women, governments, corporations, and communities must work together to dismantle barriers and promote equity. Allyship, policy change, and active engagement are crucial in ensuring that progress is not just a possibility but a reality.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let us honour the women who have paved the way and uplift those still fighting for their rights. Let us also recognise the men who stand by women against all odds. Let us commit to accelerating action for a world where every woman and girl can rise without fear or limitation. As Angelou’s poem reminds us: “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.” Maya Angelou (1928-2014).
Accelerating Action for Gender Equality
At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum. Focusing on the need to Accelerate Action emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme—Accelerate Action—reminds us that progress cannot wait. While strides have been made, the pace of change remains too slow. To close the gender gap, we must move beyond conversations and into tangible, impactful action.
Accelerating action means pushing for policies that ensure equal pay, increasing women’s representation in leadership, and dismantling systemic barriers that hold women back. It means investing in women’s education, health, and economic empowerment while addressing critical issues such as gender-based violence and digital inequality.
Women are already driving transformation in every sector. From Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s influence on literature and global feminism to Hauwa Ojeifo’s advocacy on mental health, from female health tech entrepreneurs like Temie Giwa-Tubosun revolutionizing the health sector to community organizers driving grassroots change like Amara Nwuneli, a young climate activist, from Temilade Openiyi (Tems) putting Nigeria on the global music scene to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan holding space for women in parliament—Nigerian women continue to shape the future. Their leadership is transforming our society and challenging outdated norms.
Granted, there are challenges all over the world even in regions where the world looks to for inspiration and support. No part of the world is immune from the current assault against women’s voice, power and agency. In Nigeria, women are inundated by pushbacks, harassment, misogyny and discrimination in the highest offices against those who dare to have a voice, still, we must accelerate action.
To shift this narrative, collective action is needed by both men and women to Accelerate Action to speed up the rate of progress worldwide because women can’t wait until 2158.
A World For All Of Us
Women embody many things. Sister. Mother. Daughter. Friend. Mentor. Leader. Warrior. Amazon. Survivor. The list is endless because women can be whatever they want to be in a just and equal world.
However, despite decades of gains and 30 years post-Beijing, the world is getting tougher for women and girls, but we won’t relent. Powerful forces are working relentlessly day and night to reverse these gains. For our sakes, for the sake of our daughters and their daughters yet unborn, we must continue to fight and push back against patriarchy, discrimination and misogyny for a more equal world for women and girls.
An equal world is possible when we ditch the narrative that it is a man’s world. It is not a man’s world. Women and girls are in the world and women and girls are not men. Women and girls are different from men. It is our world and the world belongs to all of us.
We must, therefore refuse narratives that amplify the rhetoric that women don’t support each other. Rather, we must use every opportunity to be reminded of the generosity, sisterhood, kindness, support, mentorship and empathy that many women and girls all around the world show each other.
Every day, we witness the community, compassion, conviction and courage of billions of women that continue to inspire our faith. So, this women’s month and beyond, let us not just rise—but act together.
Happy International Women’s Day to Nigerian women and women all over the world!
We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →
Join Our WhatsApp Channel
