Tag: women

Women Who Won: 70 Extraordinary Women Who Reshaped Politics

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Women Who Won by Ros Ball. 4.25 stars. YA Bios, 272 pages, 2023

Such an inspirational book. These are some amazing women! Geared to YA, but great for adults too.There are amazing women in here and reading their stories is powerful. Each woman had a portrait page and 2 pages of bio with addition room for sources used for each one. Loved it!

Though some disregarded her, she had an inner confidence, saying, ‘I’ve never underestimated myself. There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious.’ —Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany

When asked what qualities have underpinned her leadership, Jacinda singled out being ‘really driven by empathy… when you think about all of the big challenges that we face in the world, that’s probably the quality we need the most’. —Jacinda Arden, prime minister of New Zealand

“I hear it all the time, it changed everything…Women thought, if she can, I can.” —Vigdis Finnbogadottir, president of Iceland

And, since I’m reading these stories, some showing how fragile democracy can be, this has been the most powerful statement so far by a woman whose own husband was killed by the previous president…

Cory served only one term, and, when President Fidel Ramos took over, Cory said it was ‘one of the proudest moments of my life… This was what my husband had died for… This moment is democracy’s glory: the peaceful transfer of power without bloodshed, in strict accordance with law.’ —Corazon Aquino, president of the Philippines

Agathe Uwilingiyimana, in 1993 became 1st woman to serve as prime minister of Rwanda. She was raped and killed along with her husband in their own home by Hutu soldiers.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus. Her story is ongoing. Look her up and push back on anyone still romanticizing dictators.

Constance Markievicz, in 1918 was the 1st woman elected to British Parliament. She was elected from jail! And refused to swear allegiance to the king. What a story she has.

Diane Abbott, in 1987 she was the 1st black woman to be elected to the Uk House of Commons. “The thing that enabled me to go further and higher was entirely my education. Education is a liberating force.”

Berta Pipina, in 1941 she was the 1st woman elected to the Latvian Saeima. There was a coup from an authoritarian regime and she was sent to a Siberian gulag where she died. Between 1930-1953 1.5 million died in those Soviet camps.

Golda Meir, in 1969 she was the 1st woman elected prime minister of Israel. “There is a type of woman who cannot let her husband and children narrow her horizon.”

Dilma Rousseff, in 2011 she was the 1st woman to serve as president of Brazil. “The fact that I was the first woman president was a factor in what happened to me…I think it will be easier for the next woman president.”

Lessons- don’t vote for anyone who has attempted a coup, don’t vote for anyone calling for violence for political opponents, don’t vote for anyone who doesn’t think you have autonomy over your own body. And, if you’re living in one of the 70% of countries that have still have only been run by men, go forth and elect women.

What Woman Am I?

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Megan topped the list with 3 correct!  Thanks for playing 🙂

It’s Women’s History Month, so see if you know these women authors.
Here’s how to play…Identify the author and leave a comment with the # and the name and I’ll cross it off the list. No Googling, that’s cheating and no fun!

1. I was a successful playwright and had a 30-year love affair with author Dashiell Hammett?  Lillian Hellman, Nicole

2. I was 21 when I finished the first version of my now popular novel. It was titled First Impressions. I rewrote it fourteen years later and changed the title using alliteration.  Jane Austen, Megan

3. I was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for Beloved.  Toni Morrison, Kathy

4. I was considered the first female poet in the American colonies. – ANNE BRADSTREET

5. I’m the British author who finished my most famous novel, translated to screen many times, at the age of 19 and died in 1851 at the age of 53 of a probable brain tumor.  Mary Shelley, Mark

6. I am the last woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction for my novel Interpreter of Maladies. Jhumpa Lahiri, Megan

7. We are noteworthy sisters who also wrote under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. the Bronte sisters, ‘Nise  Does anyone know our names? Charlote, Emily, and…Anne

8. I am Chile born, but became a US citizen in 2003. I write in the magic realism tradition. A few of my novels are on Stacy’s Top 100 list 🙂  Isabel Allende, Nicole

9. I was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921 with my novel about innocence.  Edith Wharton, Megan

10. I am the highest paid author in the world.  JK Rowling, Kathy