Incredible. Female.

She straightens her shoulders before asking her question. Her gaze rests on the man who, in 2018, ordered the killing and dismemberment of an American-Saudi journalist in Istanbul.
With a steady voice, she addresses them both:

“Mr. President, is it appropriate that your family is doing business in Saudi Arabia while you are in office? Is that not a conflict of interest?
And Your Highness — U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. The families of 9/11 victims are furious that you are here in the Oval Office.”

The president’s reaction was predictable — trumpesque.

But the questions dripped with courage, professionalism, and a great touch of heroism. Too rarely do journalists confront presidents and prime ministers with such clarity. Although women still make up a minority in journalism, it is often they who ask the unvarnished, uncomfortable, necessary questions.

The media form the fourth pillar of democracy — the mechanism that investigates, verifies, and fills in the gaps of public understanding. Citizens must be able to rely on journalists to stay informed. At least, that’s how it’s written in the handbook of democracy — somewhere.

But back to the extraordinary courage of women.
Mary Bruce belongs to a group of women who not only show courage but live it. Women who don’t just ask — they act. In politics, in business, in society at large.

When Sophie Scholl stood up to the Nazi regime with nothing but leaflets, she knew the price of her defiance. She was caught and executed on February 22, 1943, alongside her brother.

Where do women find such courage? What drives them to confront danger, knowing the risks are immense? Perhaps courage is a form of clarity — and sometimes, a form of love.

Courageous Women of the World

From Malala Yousafzai, who fought for girls’ education,
to Rosa Parks, who simply refused to move,
to Greta Thunberg, who inspired millions.
From Joan of Arc to Nadia Murad, each stands for resistance, truth, and humanity.

Courageous Women from Switzerland

• Iris von Roten – held up a mirror to Swiss society and called patriarchy by its name.
  
• Marthe Gosteli – preserved the history of women’s suffrage so it would never be erased.
  
• Emilie Kempin-Spyri – a lawyer who argued for equality before women were even “citizens.”
  
• Helene von Mülinen – built a network of women’s associations and turned whispers into a movement.
  
• Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin – founded an international women’s organization long before “globalization.”
  
• Anne-Marie Rey – faced the taboo of abortion rights when others looked away.
  
• Elisabeth Kopp – the first woman in the Swiss Federal Council, breaking through the old walls of government.
  
• Ruth Dreifuss – turned social policy into a story of compassion and courage.
  

Courageous Women from Canada

• Viola Desmond – refused to leave her seat in a segregated movie theater.
  
• Mary Two-Axe Earley – fought to overturn discriminatory laws against Indigenous women.
  
• Cindy Blackstock – exposed systemic racism in Canada’s treatment of Indigenous children.
  
• Autumn Peltier – spoke at the UN at age 13 about the right to clean water.
  
• Roberta Bondar – the first Canadian woman in space, bringing science and curiosity along.
  
• Rosemary Brown – Canada’s first Black female provincial legislator, confronting racism and sexism head-on.
  
• Jean Augustine – introduced the motion that made Black History Month official in Canada.
  

This list is impressive — but never complete.
Again and again, the so-called “weaker sex” rises to show what strength truly means.
They teach the world to face its fears — or at least, to learn from those who do.

And that’s exactly how courage should look.