Inspirational women

[naicepineapple]

Off the back of another thread, didn't want to derail. Can we have a thread celebrating truly inspirational women from history to modern day. They can be well known or people only personally known to you.

I'll start with Rosa Parks, she lived from 1913-2005 and was an American civil rights activist who refused to give up her bus seat to a white person.
The First Lady of civil rights and the mother of the freedom movement.

ArcheryAnnie - Wow! Your aunt Jayaben Desai was truly amazing. I urge anyone who hasn’t read the link to read it. “We are the lions”, love it.

I feel very emotional reading this thread.

I would like to add Layla hussain who campaigns heavily against FGM and has started support groups for women who have suffered from it.

There is a fabulous book called the War on Women (and those who fought back) by the now dead journalist and reporter, Sue Lloyd-Roberts, herself an amazing woman. She compiled the stories of women or groups of women from all around the world that are fighting back and I was overwhelmed. Yes, by the sheer power of the patriarchy and the violence dealt out routinely and without fanfare to women, but also with the strength and persistence of women throughout time.

Germaine Greer thinks rape sentences should be shorter

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/30/germaine-greer-calls-for-punishment-for-to-be-reduced

She's destroying her own reputation

My daughter’s school ‘house teams’ are all named after inspirational women! (She’s in Jane Goodall house).

Shoxfordian

Did you read my second paragraph?

We sometimes ignore the bad side of men, its often celebrated. But I don't want to derail the thread.

The first female astronaut to go to space was Valentina Tereshkova in 1963. In 1983 Sally Ride became the youngest astronaut in space.

Yes, but expecting feminists not to say rapists should have shorter sentences isn't expecting perfection

Lisa Potts. I'm not sure if anyone remembers her but she saved children's lives when a man with a machete entered a school playground and tried to attack the children.

Corrie Ten Boom and Violette Szabo are two that have always inspired me very much.

Teresa May. For hanging in there and standing up to the male EU bullies

Yes I was thinking about this yesterday, Teresa May is one formidable woman, deal or no deal.

Florence Nightingale for the stats rather than the nursing. It’s sad I only learnt about the ‘lady of the lamp’ stuff at school. She saved lives with maths. Awesome.

My understanding of Germaine Greer’s rape sentence idea was that by reducing the tariff, it would increase the likelihood of getting a conviction. Not a terrible idea. Like manslaughter vs murder. You get a guilty verdict, they do time and are a convicted rapist. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood. Anyway, derailing.

I’m very, very heartened to see how little duplication of names there is on this thread. And we’re all into five pages now.

My suggestions are:

Madonna. Love her or loathe her, that woman has blazed some trails.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Discovered pulsars while an astronomy PhD student.

Julie Bindel. Feminist and rights campaigner for women in prison.

Harriet Tubman and Michelle Obama ✌

Ah such an amazing list of amazing women. I loved reading it.

I'll add Gladys Alyward, a missionary in China. In 1938, the region of China she was in was invaded by Japanese forces and Aylward led more than 100 orphans to safety over the mountains, despite being wounded herself.

Shame Comic Relief didn't read this thread.

Jessie Street - Australian suffragete who helped to end discrimination against the aborigines

Gwen Mayor who died protecting children in the Dunblane massacre.
I think it's amazing that there are teachers out there that will literally give their life for the children they teach.

So happy this thread is still going.

Mary Slessor, a British missionary to Nigeria who stopped the killing of twins. Stood up to the community leaders, Clansmen, witchdoctors, the lot.

Shame Comic Relief didn't read this thread

^ ^ That

Marie curie, Nobel prize winner for her research into radioactivity. Also during the war she developed portable xray machines and trained an army of nurses to use them, early radiographers which i am.

could we bring this thread to Comic's Relief attention? So many wonderful women who did and achieved stuff...

Mary Seacole, Mary Wolstonecraft, Elizabeth Gaskell, Dora Thewlis, Annie Besant, Margaret Atwood, Libby Lane (first female bishop), Katherine Switzer (the woman who ran a marathon - look her up and try not to feel proud).

@yolofish if someone had Twitter they might be able to link. I don't have it.

Anne McCaffrey I have had to replace copies of her books where I have worn them out.

Linda Bellos