There are so many fantastic women of color who don’t get much recognition in the world, so here are five underappreciated women from different countries who are influencing the world currently. 

Fatima Jamal is a black transgender female plus size model from Brooklyn. Apart from being a model, Jamal is also a writer and performance artist. She’s known for her modelling in LA Times, TriBeca, New York Times, Tate Modern. She’s also known for her documentary that in the works, called No Fat, No Femmes. She started this documentary’s intro in college however, now it’s evolved into a full documentary which is getting funding from the general public, through Indiegogo. No Fat, No Femme is about society’s dominant view’s impact on how we view each other and ourselves. She graduated from Morehouse College and The New School and she strives to make society treat marginalized groups better. Through her documentary and her presence throughout the modeling world, she’s become and idol and role model for transgender teens, women of color, and heavier set people around the world. 

Kamissa Camara is a political analyst and Mali’s youngest and first female foreign minister. She has quite the number of accomplishments under her belt. Along with being the foreign minister, she’s also the founder and co-chair of Sahel Strategy Forum, which is a platform for stakeholder to prompt peace, security, and development in Sahel. She’s also gained recognition for her guest speaking at panels in the US Congress, and her opinion pieces when she was a political analyst.Her profile on World Economic Forum states she also has a various number of degrees,  a master’s degree in international economics and development from University of Pierre Mendes in France. Plus a bachelor’s degree in foreign languages, specialising in international relations from Denis Diderot University. She continues to be an inspiration to young girls and a powerful figure in the world.

Fawzia Mirza is a Pakistani-Canadian actress, writer, producer, and comedian who identifies as a queer Muslim woman. Her biography on her website states she is a “writer, performer, creator, director who believes in the power of comedy to tackle divisive topics and breakdown stereotypes.” She moved to Canada from Pakistan when she was a teenager. Originally working as a litigator, she later became an actress in her late 20’s. Around that time, she came out as a lesbian and started focusing of LGBTQ+ projects to gain more visibility for brown performers, women, and queer stories. She’s starred in multiple LGBTQ+ movies such as, I Know Her and Signature Move. Mirza is an icon for LGBTQ+ people, women, and people of color and will continue to be.

Kayo Satoh , also known as Kayo Police, is a transgender model and television personality in Japan. She gained recognition when she came out as transgender in September 2018, and since then she’s become a popular figure in the gaming community for her competitive gaming skills in fighting games. She’s written a book, too, titled Re-born which is about her experience as a transgender person in Japan. She’s a role model for LGBTQ+ youth in Japan specifically since in the country, LGBTQ+ teens are bullied by their classmates. However, with Kayo Satoh, LGBTQ+ teens have more pride in their identities. 

Hajer Sharief is a human rights activist and co-founder of “Together We Build It”. She’s Libyan and promotes the participation of women and youth in the peacebuilding efforts in Libya. She is a champion on women’s issues, peace, security, and human rights and serves as a member of the Advisory Group for Experts on the Progress Study on Youth. She’s also the leader of the Extremely Together initiative of the Kofi Annan Foundation. All her efforts in the world made her a contender for the Nobel Prize along with a Somonalian woman named Ilwad Elman. Through her efforts, women and youth are learning that they have power to influence the world too. 

These women have done a lot for the world and they are only a few of many influential women that are generally unknown by the general public. What makes them even more amazing is that they are also relatively young and have overcome hurdles based on who they are. These hurdles have made them vocal on the problems in society and caused them to work towards changing society into a better place. These women of color are great inspirations for young women of color and other marginalized groups.