The Really Cool, Trailblazing Chicks
By: Cynthia Cavendish-Carey
March is Women’s History Month and this past Wednesday marked International Women’s Day. There are many women throughout history that we know very well such as Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Rosa Parks, Indira Ghandi, Oprah Winfrey, Hilary Clinton, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Mother Theresa, Florence Nightingale and many others. However, there are numerous – perhaps unsung – heroines who are less well known, but equally important to our history. This is a tribute to those really cool chicks. I invite you to learn more about these notable women whose shoulders we stand upon.
Sappho – Perhaps the first published female writer. Sappho was a poet in ancient Greece whom Plato referred to as “one of the ten greatest poets” of her time. She wrote of love rather than war and she ran a school for women. Unfortunately, only a few fragments of her work have survived the deliberate destruction by patriarchs who had an opposing view.
Mary Wollstencroft – Her publication, “A Vindication of the Rights of Women,” was the most significant book in the early feminist movement. Her pioneering ideas regarding the struggle for female suffrage espoused a clear moral and practical basis supporting human and political rights for women.
Dorothy Hodgkin - A Nobel prize winner for chemistry, Dorothy Hodgkin’s discoveries in the structure of penicillin and insulin led to significant healthcare improvements. She also devoted her energies to the peace movement and promoted nuclear disarmament.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi – A pro-democracy leader in Myanmar, she is an activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma. A noted prisoner of conscience and advocate for nonviolent resistance, she has spent 15 of the past 20 years under house arrest and separated from her children because of her opposition to the current oppressive government. Nonetheless, her peaceful protests continue as she struggles to shed light on her country’s plight. She stated, “it is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”
Emmeline Pankhurst – “Emily” was a British suffragette who devoted her life to the promotion of women’s rights. Her methods of protest were many, including public demonstrations, hunger strikes and even violence. Unfortunately, Ms. Pankhurst died in 1928, a mere three weeks before legislation was enacted that extended the right to vote to women.
Simone de Beauvoir - Her book, “The Second Sex,” is the defining book for the feminist movement. She remains one of the leading existentialist philosophers of the Twentieth Century and developed a close personal and intellectual relationship with Jean Paul Satre.
Jane Goodall – A noted humanitarian and environmentalist, she has spent her life observing Chimpanzee behavior in their natural habitat.
Amy Johnson – The first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, Ms. Johnson subsequently completed many other groundbreaking flights (e.g., England to Tokyo via Siberia and England to New York). Her bravery and individualism made her a famous role model for female pilots at a time when few women were involved in aviation.
Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE – Ms. Radcliffe is an English long-distance runner who holds the current world record for women’s marathon. She set this record in 2003 during the London Marathon with a time of 2:15:25.
In March, we focus on the achievements of all those women who came before us. The Library of Congress, National Archives and many other organizations have joined forces to pay tribute to the generations of women whose devotion to society, nature and the planet have proved invaluable. In 1987, the National Women’s History Project petitioned Congress to expand the celebration to the entire month of March. To learn more and to explore this year’s theme of “2011: Our History is Our Strength,” please visit http://www.nwhp.org/.
Cynthia Cavendish-Carey is a business and marketing consultant. She is working on her first novel, “Kachina and the Butterfly Maiden,” which is a young girl’s journey to find her own divine feminine.