From Malala Yousafzai to Emma Watson to Beyonce, it’s undeniable that women are making bold moves to change the world! In honor of International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the achievements of women who took action to #DisruptTheDefault in the past year. We were paying attention in 2014—were you? Take our quiz below to celebrate some of the year’s most empowering feminist moments.
1) In what country did women protest being told not to smile in public by flooding Twitter with images of themselves smiling?
a. Australia
b. Turkey
c. India
2) Which 17-year-old won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014—and found out while she was in chemistry class (!)?
a. Lorde
b. Kylie Jenner
c. Malala Yousafzai
3) What country revoked the visa of an infamously misogynistic “pick-up artist” for promoting “dangerous and abusive behavior” toward women?
a. China
b. Mexico
c. Australia
4) The UN’s HeForShe movement, which brings together one half of humanity in support of the other, was spearheaded by which actress?
a. Emma Watson
b. Kate Winslet
c. Thandie Newton
5) At a December 2014 White House press conference, President Obama made history when he: ?
a. Made First Lady Michelle Obama the head of the White House’s Council on Women and Girls.
b. Read a poem that he penned about feminism.
c. Intentionally called on only women reporters.
6) Who said “I’d absolutely call myself a feminist…There’s a long, long history of women suffering abuse, injustice, and not having the same opportunities as men, and I think that’s been very detrimental to the human race as a whole”?
a. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
b. John Legend
c. Ashton Kutcher
7) What country made feminist history when women outnumbered men in the legal profession?
a. Scotland
b. Ireland
c. Japan
Answer Key:
1) (b) Turkey. To protest Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc’s comment that women should not laugh in public, Turkish women took to Twitter in protest using a hashtag that translates as #resistlaughter.
2) (c) Malala Yousafzai. Education advocate Malala Yousafzai survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban and continued her education in spite of death threats. In 2008, she disrupted the default by giving a speech in Pakistan in which she asked, “How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?”
3) (c) Australia. Julien Blanc was kicked out of Australia for his racist and misogynistic seminars. Australian’s Immigration Minister stated, “This guy wasn’t putting forward political ideas, he was putting forward abuse that was derogatory to women and that’s just something, those are values abhorred in this country.” Britain and Canada are considering a similar ban.
4) (a) Emma Watson. Watson launched the HeForShe campaign last fall by delivering a powerful speech about feminism at the UN.
5) (c) Intentionally called on only women reporters. What a great way to #DisruptTheDefault of the male-dominated press corps!
6) (a) Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He went on to say, “I’m a believer that if everyone has a fair chance to be what they want to be and do what they want to do, it’s better for everyone. It benefits society as a whole.”
7) (b) Ireland. New statistics from the Law Society of Ireland reveal that there are 4,623 practicing female solicitors, compared to 4,609 male solicitors.