How 3 Women Chose To Rise Above Hardship And Make Herstory

This Women’s History Month we’re celebrating women who worked past barriers to become history-makers.

To highlight these women, The Chic Site, a website dedicated to creating content that empowers women, created videos in partnership with The Huffington Post’s Outspeak that feature four women who are ― or will be ― in our history books. Three of the four that are published so far this month include girls’ education advocate Malala Yousafzai (video above), entertainment mogul and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Marie Curie. Later this month HuffPost will publish a similar video on Rosa Parks.

“We wanted to create videos of other women who’ve inspired us by choosing to rise,” Rachel Hollis, creator of The Chic Site, told The Huffington Post.

Watch the “Rise” video for Oprah Winfrey below.

Hollis explained that there are several definitions of the word “rise” and her team looked for examples of women who exemplified each.

“Whether it was rising by ‘ceasing to be submissive or obedient’ in the case of Rosa Parks or ‘the strength or ability to respond adequately to a challenging situation’ like Malala Yousafzai, each woman has lived out the definition of Rise,” Hollis said. “My hope is that being reminded of what they’ve gone through other women feel empowered in their own lives.”

The videos are part of The Chic Site’s upcoming all-women conference this summer in Austin, TX called “Rise.”

“The event is called Rise because rising is a choice and I think choosing to rise up and change your life is the most powerful decision a woman can make,” Hollis told HuffPost.

Watch the “Rise” video for Marie Curie below.