Amid the worst spell of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no dearth of trailblazing feminist movements around the world.
Women, and especially women of color, stepped into leadership roles like never before to tackle the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.?
They took on new positions and pushed through impactful policy, from the first women prime ministers of Estonia and Samoa to the first woman of color elected vice president of the U.S. They created art that inspired others.
2021 was the year of shattering glass ceilings. Women took home Olympic medals through powerful performances and yet chose vulnerability by talking about depression and mental health.
So as 2021 comes to a close, it¡¯s about time we take a look back at the many ¡°firsts¡± we¡¯ve garnered this year.
In January, Kamala Harris became the 49th and current vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the first African American and first Asian American vice president.?
Harris also became the first woman with presidential power for 85 minutes on Friday, November 19, as Biden underwent anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy.
This was only the beginning for more women leaders to take the centrestage and govern countries.
In January, Estonia elected Kaja Kallas, the leader of the Reform Party, as its first female prime minister.
In May, Fiame Naomi Mata¡¯afa became Samoa¡¯s first woman prime minister, replacing the island¡¯s leader of 22 years.
Judge Martha Koome, 61, became Kenya¡¯s first female chief justice, with an endorsement by President Uhuru Kenyatta.?
In October, Barbados elected its first-ever president as it prepares to become a republic, removing Queen Elizabeth as head of state. Dame Sandra Mason, 72, was sworn in November which marked the country's 55th anniversary of independence from Britain.
The first woman to serve on the Barbados Court of Appeals, Dame Sandra has been governor-general since 2018.
While the Tokyo Olympics was a milestone event for LGBTQIA+ athletes, it was also served as a platform for Olympians to normalise mental health issues.
The highlight of the year was definitely when the American gymnast Simone Biles withdrew herself from much of the competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in which she was favoured to come home with as many as five gold medals, citing her mental health concerns.?
The five-time medallist (four gold, one bronze) at Rio 2016 revealed that she didn't want to put her "health and well-being" in danger.
The discussions regarding mental health took a tricky turn when Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka opted out of the French Open 2021 after playing just the opening match.?
Notably, Osaka withdrew from the Grand Slam, citing her mental health issues, after she was fined 15,000 dollars for skipping the press conference following her win in the first round of the Roland Garros.
She then later also withdrew from the Wimbledon 2021 and then made the return to Tokyo Olympics where she lit up the Olympic flame in the opening ceremony.
After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August, many feared that the women in the country will be once again marginalised and the progress they had achieved so far will go in vain. While women empowerment faced a massive setback, Afghan women journalists interviewing Taliban leaders were considered as a new benchmark.
Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice called on women television journalists to wear Islamic hijabs while presenting their reports.
When the Islamists previously ruled from 1996 to 2001, there were no Afghan media to speak of -- they banned television, movies, and most other forms of entertainment, deeming it immoral.
In December, a crowd of women marched through the Afghan capital calling for women¡¯s rights to be respected and accusing Taliban authorities of covertly killing soldiers who served the former United States-backed government.
About 30 women gathered near a mosque in the centre of Kabul on Tuesday and marched a few hundred metres chanting ¡°justice, justice¡± before they were stopped by Taliban forces.
In December, the Indian government decided to raise the legal age of marriage of women from 18 to 21 years. The Union Cabinet cleared the proposal and a bill to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, was introduced in Parliament. The bill is likely to be passed when Parliament reconvenes early next year.
By raising the age of marriage for women to 21 years, the proposed legislation brings parity in the legal age of marriage for men and women.
It contains amendments to personal laws of various communities relating to the age of marriage to ensure uniformity in this regard.
¡°I would like to present that women equality in our country needs to be seen in [terms of] age of marriage. Invoking different marriage laws of different faiths, I rise to introduce the amendment bill,¡± Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani told Parliament.
The year 2021 witnessed rapid strides in women empowerment and provided a much-needed thrust to the feminist movements across the world. As we step into yet another year of the pandemic and staying at home, let's hope that feminist movements hit the streets.
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