February 1
/Women peacemakers born today
1882 Hiro Ohashi born Japan (d. 1973). Japanese botanist. Delegate to Fourth WILPF congress, Washington DC, 1924. President, Japan Women’s University, 1947-56.
1972 Leymah Gbowee born Liberia. Nonviolent activist; worked to end Liberian civil war through nonviolent means, 2003. Shared Nobel Peace Prize with Tawakkol Karman & Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 2011.
1980 Ellen Trane Norby born Herning, Denmark. Leader in Dutch Liberal Youth, 1995; president of European Liberal Youth, 2002-2004; elected to Danish parliament, 2005; UN delegate, 2006.
1985 Asmaa Mahfouz born Egypt. Sparked nonviolent Egyptian revolution via video blog calling for assembly at Tahrir Square, 2011. Co-founder of April 6 Youth Movement.
Women's peacemaking on this day
Feast day of St. Verdiana (1182-1242) Nonviolent disciple of St. Francis who tamed snakes without fear.
1892 In Vienna, Bertha von Suttner published first issue of peace journal Die Waffen nieder!
1991 In Akron, OH, NOW's Young Feminist Conference protested the Gulf War.
1992 Katherine Dunham, 83-year-old African-American dancer, began 47-day hunger strike in protest of America's forced repatriation of Haitian refugees.
1999 Five British Women arrested Barrow, England for posting "Women Want Peace" on Trident submarine.