It’s women’s history month – and while you may be reflecting on the empowering women who have come before us, I figure it’s just as essential to consider the value, and evaluate the liberation, of authentic female friendships.
Introspection on strong women, like Emmeline Pankhurst, or Harriet Tubman, helps to underpin the culture and context of humanity. Not only this, it additionally enables us to truly reflect on ourselves. Without these women, that battled so vehemently, for their rights, we wouldn’t and couldn’t, be who we are today.
Without a beautiful community of women, women’s history could not survive, it inherently relies on solidarity, unwavering support and genuine, veritable love.
Behind so many of the stories we celebrate this month are circles of women supporting one another. Support is in the very foundations of the love and care that is shared between women- it is taught to us in childhood. Without the care of the women closest to me, the strength, and confidence that I hold, couldn’t be productively preserved.
Female friendships are intrinsic in life itself; they shape who we are, and they carry us through all stages of life. Female friendships underpin the most beautiful stories of power, strength and, fundamentally, of women creating history.
They are often where we first learn how to be ourselves. Through years of conversations, laughter, disagreements, and growth, these friendships become a space where we can be honest, vulnerable, and understood. Over time, they hold versions of us that no one else remembers quite the same way.
My oldest friends will store memories of me in different lights – me in school, me having my first kiss, me starting university. In the eyes of my friends, all of these vulnerable, strong women, exist within me. They are still living and breathing and being nurtured by the relationship we share. I think this is especially important to reflect on this month: while history is beautiful and inspiring, it is also being designed, crafted and forged, inside the closeness of intimate relationships, every single day.
These relationships, themselves, carry history: shared memories, inside jokes, moments of comfort, and the quiet understanding that comes from having witnessed each other change. I think there’s something underlyingly beautiful about watching a friend change and still loving and supporting them.
In a world that often moves quickly and asks women to constantly adapt, those friendships can be grounding. They remind us who we were, who we are, and who we are still becoming.
So, while women’s history month rightfully honours pioneers, leaders, and change makers, it’s also worth celebrating the everyday relationships between women that make so much of that progress possible. Because sometimes the most meaningful history isn’t just written in public achievements: it’s built in the enduring bonds between women who continue to support, challenge, and stand beside one another.
