5 Famous International Women in Finland

On 8 March, Finland joins many other countries around the world in commemorating and celebrating International Women's Day.

2020 Theme: "I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights"

International Women's Day is celebrated each year with a particular theme, and according to the United Nations, the focus of this year will be on equality; 'An equal world is an enabled world'. In 1906, Finland was the first country that approved the law of allowing women to vote and to run for the elections as well. Since then, the work toward equality has continued at different levels of society.

It is a great achievement when women who have an international background make a difference and impact society. Let's celebrate these women and their successes:

Sofi Oksanen

Sofi Oksanen is a Finnish writer and playwright, born 1977 in Finland; her father a Finn, and her mother, Estonian. Sofi Oksanen is the author of five novels; Purge is one of her famous works and internationally recognized. She has won several awards for her literary work both international, and domestic.

Nasima Razmyar

Nasima Razmyar is an Afghan-Finnish politician who represents the Social Democratic Party, born 1984 in Afghanistan. She moved from Moscow to Finland in 1993 with her family. Razmyar was elected to the Finnish Parliament in 2015 and served in the Parliament until June 2017. She is the Deputy Mayor for culture and leisure in Helsinki, and since 2012 she is a member of the City Council of Helsinki.

Lola Odusoga

Iyabode Ololade Remilekun "Lola" Odusoga, born in 1977 in Turku, is a Finnish model who won Miss Finland in 1996. Her mother is Finnish, and her father is Nigerian. She won the crown of Miss Scandinavia in 1997, and on 17 June 1996, at the Miss Universe competition in Las Vegas, she was second-runner up.

Armi Kuusela

Armi Helena Kuusela is a Finnish model and beauty queen, born in 1934. The parents of Kuusela used to live in Canada and later moved to Finland. In 1952, Armi Kuusela won the national beauty contest Suomen Neito. Then, she traveled to the United States to participate in the first Miss Universe pageant, and she managed to capture the crown at 17 years old. Soon after her winning, she played in a Finnish movie called Maailman kaunein tyttö (The World's Most Beautiful Girl). Kuusela is still active in her community and is a charity worker.

Anna Abreu

Anna's father is from Portugal, and her mother is a Finn. The Finnish-Portuguese singer who was born in Vantaa became famous from the Idols competition in 2007. Abreu has sold over 182 000 records and won the female artist of the year award in 2007 and 2008.

"A woman is human.

She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man.

Likewise, she is never less.

Equality is a given.

A woman is human."

― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration