Ada…..Anita……March 8th…...

Happy March 8th - International Women’s day. Every epoch in History women have contributed to the development of science, technology, literature, education, medicine, law, social changes, and politics. Most importantly they provided a base for the next generation of women to continue to work on the progress of mankind and women’s rights. Every country and culture has produced these pioneers - named, nameless or less known in the written history. Many women rose beyond the tight social, cultural and political framework to bring the freedom of thought, women’s suffrage, and education. One day, we will have a World where women and men will work together in mutual respect for the common good be it a small village in Congo, a rural town in India, or a tribal village in Amazon.

I want to remember two of such women who had the courage to think out of the box.

I was introduced to ADA by my Expert Systems Professor in one of his lectures on the history of computer languages. He mentioned that the first programming language was named after a woman Ada Lovelace. She was born in 1815 to the famous poet Lord Byron. Apparently her interests were in Mathematics and she wrote programmes along with  Charles Babbage the father of computing languages. In one of her futuristic comments Ada predicted that Babbage’s “Analytical Engine” could be used in creating graphics, create music, and complex scientific calculation.

Anita Snook, a pioneer in aviation famously called as Neta Snook was born in 1896.   She managed to break the social constraints and got her flying instructions and opened a successful flying school in Kinner, California. In 1917, she gave flying instructions to Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. The student became more famous to the teacher's delight.

Let us celebrate and learn to reach new heights thereby providing yet another step for the disadvantaged women all over the World.