Ruth Bader Ginsburg; The passing of a Legend.

The world lost an icon of great import on Friday 18th September 2020 in the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. Justice Ginsburg dedicated her lifework to upholding equality and justice, earning her the nickname of notorious RBG, among the younger generation. RBG was an iconic activist known for her progressive votes on women’s rights and gender equality issues. She died at the age of 87 due to complications from cancer.

RBG was called to the highest court of the United States in 1993 after several decades of actively setting precedents on gender-based litigations, by arguing successfully on cases that affected women and women’s fundamental rights. Most of her work as a judge, led directly to the end of gender discrimination in many areas of the law in United States by voting on important issues including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and affordable healthcare. She was dedicated to creating a world where women and girls have equal rights backed by law with a tangible effect on their income and wealth creation. She represented the American feminism on a social and political level and is often referred to as a feminist gladiator.

In a 2009 interview with USA Today, Justice Ginsburg said: "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception." As a staunch advocate, RBG inspired many generations of women and girls with her steadfastness in breaking gender barriers that she experienced throughout her career, beginning over 50 years ago when she was denied employment in the Supreme Court because she was a woman. The obstacles did not stop her, rather, they intensified her drive to change the world and she defied gender norms.

In the 1970s, RBG began taking up sex discrimination cases with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and co-founded the organization's Women's Rights Project. RBG was a quintessential product of Harvard Law School. She was well respected for her oratory skills in the court and her passion portrayed without sentiments. She was the longest-serving female Justice and second woman to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of US (SCOTUS).

RBG will be remembered for her giant strides as a great jurist, human rights advocate and women rights champion. She was a wife and mother, but most of all a woman who believed in the transformative power of the rule of law and sought to wield it. Her legacy need not slip away while grieving of her passing but should be a compass that helps our course for the rights of women in our society. To us at ProjectASHA, Ruth Ginsburg is a Shero who by her work and deed, Inspired Hope and Transformed Lives. We celebrate her victories and draw inspiration in our continued work of empowering women and girls everywhere. RBG words below will continue to echo for generations to come:

My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent. I said on the equality side of it, that it is essential to a woman's equality with man that she be the decision-maker, that her choice be controlling.

Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation. The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality. RBG (1933-2020)