They were courageous, they were trailblazers, and they took us to the new roads and finer destinations. Our history is filled with the stories, stories of courageous people who took upon themselves to pave new roads, new paths. But most of the time, our history books are partial towards the achievements of the woman explorers. The explorers who were ahead of their time and who went on to road less travelled and made a huge impact on how we see the world today. These are stories of courage, breaking of gender biases, and telling the world that if a woman wants, she can touch the sky. Nellie Bly This powerhouse always broke the conventions and rose above the stereotypes. An American newspaper reporter, she is known for many of her pieces of investigative journalism and that too in the year 1887, when the world saw a women journalist. She was challenged in boyish humour by her editor to take on around the world in 80 days story and try to make it real. Little did he knew that he was about to eat his words after a few months. It was because Nellie achieved this impossible feat in mere 72 days! Her journey is documented in her memoir “Around the world in seventy-two days). Jeanne Baret A botanist and an explorer, Jeanne Baret was not only the first French woman but the first woman to sail around the globe. And that too in the year 1766, when women were not allowed on the ships! But this courageous lady did not let this tiny thing stop her. She disguised herself as a boy named “Etoile”. She went around the globe collecting samples of plants, and the famous plant and flower discovered by her is everyone’s favourite, Bougainvillea. Amelia Earhart Our list would not be even close to complete if we don’t mention the trailblazing, Amelia Earhart. She was the first female pilot who, in the 16th century, crossed both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. She was the first female pilot to have a flying license. But her life was cut short by her tragic disappearance in one of her pioneering journeys. But nevertheless, her legacy lives on in the mind of the explorers. It is sad that along with these remarkable women, there are many more women explorers lost in the pages of history simply because they were women. Now is the time we celebrate them and learn from their incredibly courageous life stories.
