It started when women of the past decided to fight for their place in society. They did not want to stand passively in men’s shadows without making any contribution to society. They protested, demanded, and convinced their leaders to give them rights and a place in the world as co-equals of men. This later led to the creation of women’s suffrage, the recognition of women’s right to make their choices of leadership known. This became the bridge to the future of women and girls all over the world and across the generations.

In the succeeding years, women of the past generations were able to build many more bridges. There was women’s representation in media, the news, education and health, and in political leadership. In the Philippines, we were able to have two women presidents in the past years. Yet, there were still a lot of challenges to overcome. For the bridge to be strong, a lot of work still needs to be done and accomplished.

Despite women having been given rights, not many were in leadership positions in work and society. Representation in the workplace and media for women was not as common as it is now. But many wonderful girls and women persevered. Through united fronts and advocacy works in fields where they were, they worked hard, thrived, and flourished. Whether in their careers, male-dominated or not, they showed the world that women can excel in the workplace. And the bridge was further strengthened and rebuilt for a better future for the women and girls of today.

How about the women and girls of today? Sooner or later, the women of the present will become the women of the past once the new generation emerges. One way or another, we end up becoming mother, aunt, and grandmother figures to the women and girls of tomorrow, ensuring their lives will be better than the lives led by great women of the distant past and this era. We, too, will end up building our bridge for their future.

Through the battles and struggles experienced by women of the past, women of the present can build their bridges with better ease now. Women of the past fought for women and girls of the now to do just this for the future of humanity without their gender impeding the process. By encouraging women and even little girls to embrace new opportunities and take more risks, we empower them to create the new future this world will have for the next generation of women.

This is the challenge for women of today — to carry the torch of female empowerment and pass it on to the next generation of women and girls. By becoming aware of, and acknowledging, the sacrifices and struggles of the previous generations of women in building their bridges for us, we can appreciate the fact that we get to build our bridge, too, and make it reach even wide spaces and places for a stronger and more meaningful lives for the girls and women of the next generations.