Today is the celebration of the second International Day of the Girl, declared by the United Nations.

It is there to raise awareness of inequality that girls in some countries have to face for the simple reason that they’re girls and not boys.

Some of these differences could be education as some girls are not allowed to study because it is considered unnecessary for them; legal rights, health care, discrimination, violence or forced child marriage.

Since this international day is still so young, I’ll focus on giving examples of few girls that for their hard-work, courage or drive would deserve a standing ovation on this day.

Let’s start with one of the most famous girls in history: Anne Frank. Those of you who have read her diary will know exactly why this girl was a hero. It was not only her brilliant writing skills but also her optimism towards life in such chaotic and totally not optimistic times during the Second World War.

There is Hellen Keller, an author and activist who became the first deaf and blind student to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Tavi Gevinson, started a fashion blog at age 11. Her consistency made her blog attract more than 50,000 readers and got her interviewed by the The New York Times shortly after. She’s now a well-known fashion name and gets invited to all the big events in the industry.

Winter Vinecki founded a non-profit organisation to fight prostate cancer when her father died only 10 months after his diagnosis. She’s raised more than $400.000 so far. She’s also a two times national tri-athlete, gives speeches about childhood obesity at schools, publishes a monthly health and wellness newsletter and much more. She just turned 14 years old.

Did you know that Joan of Arc, who led the French Army to a number of victories during the Hundred Years War, was only 19 when she was burned at the stake?

Nadia Comaneci, the first Olympic gymnast to achieve the perfect score in the uneven bars event at just 14 and named Female Athlete of the Year by the The Associated Press shows the results of hard work, drive and discipline.

Qian Hongyan, a Chinese girl who lost both her legs in a car accident at the age of 4 has become a successful swimmer by training for 4h a day and dreams of representing her country in the Paralympics.

Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped from her bedroom and tortured for 9 months when she was 14 years of age, is now planning to be a political activist and start a foundation to help children who went through the same horrible situation.

Nujood Ali obtained a divorce from her husband who was in his thirties and constantly raped and beat her. She didn’t only break her tribal tradition but also got her memoirs published. When she went to court to get the divorce, Nujood was 10 years of age.

And last but definitely not least, since this girl was nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, there is Malala Yousafzai, who got shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan for standing up for women’s education. I really admire this girl, so I’ll let her speak by herself on this video.

Feel free to do more research into these amazing people and show it to the young girls in your life, as those heroines are definitely a reason for inspiration!