A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are

“A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” So proclaimed Marge Piercy, poet and prophet of the modern age, whose words resonate like the voices of the ancients who celebrated those who defied the impossible. In her saying lies the essence of defiance and courage: that true strength in a woman is revealed not in quiet compliance, but in her refusal to bow before the walls erected by doubt, custom, or oppression. To be strong is to stand unshaken when the world insists you must fall.

The ancients, too, honored such women. They told of Antigone, who dared to bury her brother despite the decree of kings, and of Deborah, who rose as a leader in a time when women were told they could not lead. Such stories remind us that strength is not granted by permission of society, but is seized through determination. A woman’s resolve to accomplish what others declare impossible is itself a heroic act, for it stands against not only obstacles but the weight of disbelief itself.

History offers us many mirrors of Piercy’s truth. Consider Rosa Parks, who in 1955 refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus. Her act was simple, yet it was laden with the force of determination. Others believed the system could not be broken, that equality could not be won, but she chose to defy those beliefs. In that moment she embodied Piercy’s definition of a strong woman—one who did what others said could not, or must not, be done. And from her act of strength a movement surged forward that reshaped the destiny of millions.

So too with Marie Curie, who entered laboratories when many declared science unfit for women. She endured poverty, ridicule, and isolation, yet her determination led her to uncover the secrets of radioactivity, changing the very fabric of modern science. Her strength was not simply in intellect, but in her resolve to step where doors had been closed, to do what others were determined could not be done. In her quiet perseverance, she lit the path for countless women who came after.

O children of tomorrow, learn this: strength is not simply the lifting of heavy burdens, nor the endurance of pain. True strength is the will to rise when others would keep you down, the courage to persist when voices of doubt thunder against you. A strong woman does not measure her path by the expectations of others; she carves her own road where none existed, and in doing so, she makes the impossible possible.

The lesson is plain: when others say, “This cannot be done,” do not let their disbelief define your destiny. Practically, let each person do this: when faced with resistance, ask yourself not whether others approve, but whether the path is just, whether it is necessary, whether it is yours to walk. Build discipline and patience, for determination is not a single act but a lifelong fire. Surround yourself with those who believe, and when none do, believe in yourself all the more.

Thus remember Piercy’s words: “A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” Carry them as a banner of courage, whether you are a woman breaking barriers or a man standing in solidarity with justice. For history itself bends to those who endure against resistance, and the future is built by those whose determination dares to defy the word “impossible.”