26 November 1883 Sojourner Truth (born as Isabella Hardenbergh), speaker and preacher, charismatic religious and political leader, died on this day at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA. The day of her death is known but the day of…
Tag: women’s rights
Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) Suffragette Leader and Single Parent in Edwardian Britain
As we celebrate Mother’s Day in April 2011, it is salutary to remember women in the past who were single mums struggling to support their children while engaged in public work. Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the suffragette movement in…
Women’s History Month: Spare Rib
It’s hard to over-estimate the impact of Spare Rib. Launched in 1972 it caused an immediate sensation. Newsagents across the country, including WH Smith, refused to stock it. Spare Rib was seen as subversive, as indeed it was – a…
Women’s History Month: Pandita Ramabai
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…
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: International Women’s Day.
International Women’s Day celebrates the achievements of women-past, present and future. It was first celebrated in 1911 and the day has often been commemorated for the last century by feminists on the streets, fighting for their social, economic and political…