Newsflash: this is a women’s world, ladies. We may often be overlooked and undervalued in many different ways, but the world could not run without us. Here’s why International Women’s Day is so important.

International Women’s Day enlightens our lives every year on March 8th, as a chance to celebrate the women who inspire us, provide for us and generally give us all those womenspire feels. It is celebrated globally, to recognise the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. 

Why is it necessary to dedicate a day to this? Well, quite frankly, we keep our households, families and businesses afloat and the world doesn’t always give us credit for that. We put out fires in all corners of society, sometimes in heels or with a baby in tow. In spite of being incredible warriors, we have a long history of being classed as ‘the second sex’. International Women’s Day is a chance to assert our gender parity, and celebrate the incredible bad-ass women who enrich our lives.

International Women’s Day allows us to:

• celebrate women's achievements
• raise awareness about women's equality
• lobby for accelerated gender parity
• fundraise for female-focused charities

This year, the theme of IWD is #ChooseToChallenge, so we’re celebrating some of the most inspirational women who challenge the boundaries of what society deems possible. Check out our IWD heroes and embrace the inspiration. If you have more to share, please comment them below. 

Glennon Doyle

Glennon Doyle is an activist and #1 New York Times best-selling author. Doyle's latest book Untamed tackles everything from divorce and remarriage, building a family with another woman, motherhood and religion. Doyle is also the Founder of Together Rising, a charity that helps people in crisis all over the world.

Michaela Coel

Michaela Coel is an actor, screenwriter, director, producer and singer. Known for shows Chewing Gum, and Black Earth Rising, Coel made waves recently in her series I May Destroy You, in which she channelled her personal experiences into a moving and ground-breaking depiction of the aftermath of rape.

Jacinda Arden

Jacinda Arden is the Prime Minister of New Zealand, offering an exceptional example of inclusive leadership and women's rights advocacy on a global stage.

Arden has been recognised for her excellent handling of the COVID-19 crisis, prioritising Māori rights and taking care of children and families.

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw is a lawyer, civil rights advocate, philosopher and leading scholar in critical race theory.

If you know the term 'intersectional feminism', you have this woman to thank. Williams Crenshaw coined the term in order to combat exclusive feminism that dominated mainstream narratives.

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is an activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. Famously, Malala became an advocate for girls' education as a child, resulting in a Taliban attack against her. Malala survived, and went on to attend Oxford University.

Caroline Criado-Perez

Caroline Criado-Perez is a best-selling writer and campaigner. She won the Liberty Human Rights Campaigner of the Year Award 2013 and in 2015 she was named an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. 

Criado-Perez's novel, Invisible Women highlights the ways in which legislation has consistently overlooked the needs of girls, women and mothers.

Whitney Wolfe Herd

Whitney Wolfe Herd is the CEO of dating app Bumble. In 2021, Herd became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire after taking Bumble public.

Wolfe Herd was an early executive at Tinder, but after being sexually harassed and stripped of her co-founder title by her boss, she sued and started her own venture.

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) was elected to the U.S. Congress at age 29, making her the youngest woman to serve.

Amongst a whole host of impressive feats in her time in congress, AOC helped the organisation Mermaids raise $300,000 for trans youth. She is also a key-player in America's Green New Deal.

Celebrating our community of warrior mums

In addition, we want to celebrate some of the incredible warrior women in our NAYDAYA community. We are in awe of any woman who pushes her body to the ultimate limit to bring a child into the world, and it’s high time we shout about the fact that motherhood is work. 

Women’s unpaid labour gets overlooked every day, but we see you, warriors.

Amy Riddell

“My son was born via emergency section and I didn't meet him for the first 2 hours of his life as I had to undergo surgery straight away due to spinal wearing off before they could stitch me up! 

I've always had issues with my body and even now I resent my body, my stretch marks and my section scar but slowly I'm able to look at myself in the mirror and be proud of what my body went through to bring my son safely into this world.”

Ishadi Amanda

“My dear body, I know you will never be the same again. It is difficult for me to not recognize you anymore, you who have been an asset of seduction. During these 9 months of pregnancy you have so many changes and this is only the beginning. You have been my strength as well as my weakness. So I did a lot of work on myself to accept you. I don't want people to treat you differently, to feel sorry for you! Because I am proud of you! I am proud of our journey! We will soon give birth to a little human! Perform the miracle of life.”

Miss x Divine

“I got my first set of stretch marks at the age of 13. I remember feeling liberated, Excited to start my journey into womanhood After having my daughter at the age of 18, It felt like my world was turned upside down. My body I grew to know and love became a horror story I couldn't bear to face. My mom body became the one thing I truly hated about myself. After almost 7 years of what seemed like a losing battle. I now proceed to walk proudly on this road to accepting and falling in love with my body again.”

Thank you to all the incredible women who continue to inspire us every day. Happy International Women’s Day.

Love, NAYDAYA. x