Women who were firsts in their fields – By Shreya Dixit

The first step is always the toughest one. There are so many women who were
pioneers in their fields, and to say the least, these women have broken a lot of stereotypes
in opening up the opportunities in their fields for the entire womanhood.

1. First women to go to space: Valentina Tereshkova went to the moon, in 1963, when she
   was just 26 years old. She spent three days in space and orbited the earth 48 times. From working at a textile mill to going to space, it sure sounds like one long journey.
2. First women to climb Mt. Everest: Junko Tabei, a Japanese mountaineer was the first
   woman to scale Mt. Everest. She was also the first woman to conquer, the seven summits, the highest mountains of all seven continents. She believed in not giving up and despite battling cancer she continued her mountaineering journey.
3. First Woman to earn a doctorate degree: Elena Cornaro Piscopia was the first woman to
   receive a doctorate degree in Philosophy in 1678. She was 32 years old when she received her doctorate. She definitely is an inspiration for academicians out there.
4. First woman to win a Nobel prize: Marie Curie was awarded a Nobel prize in Physics. If you think that’s an amazing achievement, well there are only 4 people who have
   won Nobel twice and Madam Curie was one of them. She was awarded her second Nobel prize in 1911 in Chemistry.
5. First female Prime Minister: Sirimavo Bandaranaike who became the prime minister of
   Srilanka in 1960 was the world’s first female prime minister.

Thanks to all these women for going against the odds. They made It possible for so many young girls across the generations to dream and choose varied professions.