The inspiration behind our Women’s Day e-card illustration
Whether exploring space, teaching the next generation of change-makers or coding their way out of poverty, women are making major strides toward equality every day.
This year’s Malala Fund e-card for International Women’s Day aims to celebrate these victories and the women who achieve them. These women defy expectations and inspire us all to aim higher every day. As a tribute to the trailblazers in her life, our talented intern, Maia Bix, created an illustration for this year’s e-card. Here’s the story behind the beautiful artwork in her own words:
To me, International Women’s Day has always been a day for celebration, but also a day for reflection and action. The day itself is grounded in women’s struggle for equal rights and opportunities in the workplace — a struggle that continues today. Gender equality remains a globally unfulfilled promise, and on International Women’s Day, I choose to acknowledge this reality head on, and to drive progress forward.
As shown by the touching personal tributes to inspiring women submitted by Malala Fund supporters, female role models play a vital role in building a better future for girls and women. In my own life, my grandmothers — loving, resilient Toshie and sharp, tenacious Ann — have set the examples to which I constantly aspire. In the world of superstars, I look to brilliant women like Zadie Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dolores Huerta — and of course, Malala — for inspiration.
My illustration for this year’s International Women’s Day card is intended as a tribute to the breathtaking diversity of extraordinary women (famous or not) that girls have to look up to in 2017. So much of the progress girls and women have made, and so much of the progress we will make going forward, is thanks to the example set by these women — and that’s something worth celebrating!
Thousands of supporters around the world have already sent e-cards to mothers, daughters, teachers, sisters and more. Honour a woman who has changed your life by sending an e-card and investing in a generation of girls who will change the world.
