Three Wise Women

The synonymous story of the Three Wise Men is raised every Christmas. However, in 2025, a frightening year for women’s rights, the world needs Three Wise Women bearing gifts of courage, resilience and resistance. From three completely different walks of life, Lucy Bronze, Gisele Pelicot and Greta Thunberg embody that role.

Lucy Bronze is an English professional footballer currently playing for Chelsea FC. Previously at Sunderland, Manchester City and Barcelona, Bronze has won an impressive five Champions League titles and the Euros in both 2022 and 2025 with England Women. England made headlines in 2022 after beating Germany to win the major competition. Bringing investment and viewers with it, women’s football soared in ratings, and Bronze shone as a central figure through her leadership and resilience. Revealing it only after the tournament, Bronze also played the entire 2025 competition with a fractured tibia, showing the powerful drive of a determined woman while setting an example to those who claim women are too soft to play. An ambassador for the National Autistic Society and ADHD UK, she raises awareness of neurodiversity, where women are dramatically underdiagnosed because they do not fit the stereotype, a direct consequence of gender bias.

From 2011 to 2020, Gisele Pelicot was drugged and raped by her husband. The world watched in horror as 51 men went on trial for their involvement in the assaults. Pelicot is an inspiration for many reasons, but the most important lesson women can learn from her ordeal is her courage. Refusing to be silenced through victim shaming, she waived her anonymity to fight for justice. Inspiring protests and murals, Gisele became a global symbol of courage and resistance against the sexist structures that force women into silence. Just across the Channel in the UK, five per cent of rape cases reported to police end with a charge and only 2.9 percent end with a conviction. In a world where sex offenders can even become presidents, Pelicot highlights the power women hold when they stand together, with France now defining rape as any non-consensual act. Unity dilutes the power of the rich; there is nothing more powerful than a woman scorned.

‘I think the world needs more angry women, to be honest,’ said Greta Thunberg in response to Donald Trump’s sexist claim that she is strange and angry, an infamous line often used to silence women. The irony is clear: a man who resorts to Twitter arguments and finger pointing views a woman credibly standing up for something as angry. Her direct approach is often mocked, but would it be if she were a man? When women fight for change, they are expected to do so quietly, yet it is crucial to remember that well-behaved women seldom make history. Holding world leaders to account, Thunberg condemns them for failing to take drastic action to protect the planet. Perhaps her bravery is most evident in her participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aimed to bring humanitarian aid into a devastated Gaza. Although unsuccessful, she showed what it means to act in a time when so many choose to look away.

In the midst of a dark age for women, unity is essential. These three women come from completely different backgrounds but are bound by inspirational stories rooted in being unapologetically themselves and demanding change. Perhaps your Wise Women are your mother and your friends, or a teacher who inspired you. Whoever they are, think of their story this Christmas, and the formidable power of Three Wise Women.

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