Louise Fréchette born Montreal, Quebec, Canada July 16, 1946. First Deputy Secretary-General of UN 1997-2006, responsible for administrative reforms; Canadian diplomat and stateswoman.
"I certainly hope that one day in the future there will be a female secretary-general." (Common Ground interview, March 21, 2000)
Marcia Freedman (née Prince) born Newark, NJ May 17, 1938. American-Israeli Peace activist; co-founded Israel Women in Black 1988; founding president Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace 2002; member of Knesset 1974-77; socialist.
“So as a feminist I am saying that the effect of settling international conflicts by war is a male thing. Therefore, as a feminist I become a One-Worldist, I become a Pacifist.” (“On Women and War” interview with Barbara Rubin; photo Knesset.gov.il)
Elisabeth Freeman born Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England September 12, 1876 (d. 1942). Anglo-American militant suffragist and pacifist who opposed World War I; organized spectacular suffrage protests including leading a yellow gypsy wagon in DC; NAACP Anti-Lynching Campaign in Texas 1916; first women’s train on presidential campaign 1916.
On her beginning as a militant activist: "I saw a big burly policeman beating up on a woman, and I ran to help her, and we were both arrested. I found out in jail what cause we were fighting for." (elizabethfreeman.org; c.1913 photo Wikipedia)
Betty Friedan (née Goldstein) born Peoria, IL February 4, 1921 (d. 2006). Feminist, author of landmark text The Feminine Mystique, 1963. Founded National Organization for Women (NOW), 1966; president of NOW, 1966-1970. Organized Women's Strike for Equality on 50th anniversary of women's suffrage, August 26, 1970. Organized campaign of civil disobedience at White House, 1992.
"Men, also, have in them enormous capacities that they have to repress and fear in themselves, living up to this obsolete and brutal man-eating, bear-killing, Ernest Hemingway, crewcut Prussian sadistic, napalm all the children in Vietnam, bang-bang you're dead, image of masculinity, the image of all powerful masculine superiority that is absolute." (Jan. 29, 1970, US Senate hearings on Judge Carswell; 1960 photo Wikipedia)
Laurie Susan Fulton born Sioux Falls, SD July 2, 1949. Founding Executive Director Peace Links of women to prevent nuclear war, peace building, and finding alternative methods of resolving conflict 1982-85; began exchange of Russian women at peak of Cold War Russian pen pal campaign; Pioneering Peacebuilder Award of National Peace foundation 2002; lawyer; Ambassador to Denmark 2009-13; organized and co-chaired Role of Women in Global Security, Copenhagen Oct. 2010.
“Building lasting peace and security requires women’s participation. Half of the world’s population cannot make a whole peace.” (Role of Women in Global Security summary; photo zimbio.com)
Coco Fusco (née Juliana Fusco Miyares) born New York, NY June 20, 1960. Cuban-American performance artist and professor. Anti-Apartheid “Rights of Passage”, 1997; women and war “A Room of One’s Own”, 2006; antiwar lecture “Observations of Predations in Humans: A Lecture by Dr. Zira, Animal Psychologist”, 2013.
“At the onset of the new millennium, American women finally have what they need to demonstrate their prowess. The War on Terror offers an unprecedented opportunity to the women of this great country." (“A Room of One’s Own”)
“[T]he balance in human society has shifted away from empathy toward aggressively individualistic behavior.” (Elia Alba interview, Dec. 12, 2013, BOMB; photo as Zira, Monmouth.edu)
Women in Peace
is dedicated to highlighting the achievements of extraordinary, peacemaking women from around the world.
