On 11 March 1889 the Indian activist known as Pandita Ramabai opened her Sharada Sadan (or Home for Learning) in Chowpatty, an area of Mumbai (which was then, under the British Raj, known as Bombay). She designed this institution to…
Category: Blog
The Women’s History Network blog
Women’s History Month: 100 Years of International Women’s Day
Glasgow Women’s Library holds archival material documenting the celebration of International Women’s Day. Here are just a couple of examples picked from our collections: In 1975 International Women’s Day was given official recognition by the United Nations. This edition of…
Women’s History Month: from the TUC Library Collections
Boatwomen Training Scheme, 1943. In 1941, Frances Marian ‘Molly’ Traill approached the Ministry of War Transport with a scheme to train women boat crews to help the country with its shortage of manpower on the canals. The Ministry was impressed…
Women’s History Month: International Women’s Day!
Today, we celebrate 100 years of International Women’s Day (IWD), so it seems appropriate to provide some historical context. International Women’s Day has its origins amongst the socialist and communist parties campaigning for rights for the working-class at the beginning…
Women’s History Month: ‘Red Ellen’, Ellen Wilkinson, 1891 – 1947
Ellen Wilkinson was a key radical figure in British socialism and feminism of the early and mid-20th century, a woman of idealism, pragmatism, energy and passion who was involved in many of the major struggles of the period. Born in…
Women’s History Month: S. Margery Fry (1874-1958) ‘Women Champion of the Underdog’
Margery Fry was born on 11th March 1874 into a prominent and well-connected Quaker family. She was the eighth child of Edward and Mariabella Fry, whose family was later completed by the birth of Margery’s younger sister, Ruth. Margery’s father…
Women’s History Month: Caroline Herschel
On 5 March 1777 Caroline Herschel made her first appearance as a professional singer (her brother William conducting), at the Upper Assembly Rooms at Bath in Handel’s oratorio Judas Maccabeus.This information comes from Orlando: Women’s Writing in the British Isles…
Women’s History Month: The story of Josephine Kearney (1876-1957).
Jessie Street National Women’s Library Ultimo Sydney Australia is a specialist library which collects preserves and promotes the literary and cultural heritage of Australian women. It is unique resource established in 1989 and named in honour of the well-known activist…
Women’s History Month: Women in 19th century colonial Hong Kong.
The colonial authorities of nineteenth century Hong Kong believed that the vast majority of the Chinese women residing in the colony were prostitutes. For example, in 1878 Charles May, a member of the colonial government, testified to an inquiry into…