July 3

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Women peacemakers born today

  • 1792 Thankful Hussey Southwick born Portland, ME (d. 1867). Co-founder of world's first nonviolent society, New England Non-Resistance Society Boston 1838; active abolitionist and suffragist Quaker; president of Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society.

  • 1860 Charlotte Perkins Gilman born Hartford, CT (d. 1935). Feminist author and sociologist. Co-founded Women’s Peace Party, 1915.

  • 1886 Tano Jodai born Daito, Yamagata, Japan (d. 1982). Japanese educator and peace activist; Quaker. International WILPF leader; UNESCO Council member. Founded first Japanese peace group Japanese Woman’s Peace Association, which became Japanese chapter of WILPF, 1921.

  • 1897 Hansa Mehta born Surat, Gujarat, India (d. 1995). Nonviolent freedom fighter twice arrested in Gandhi's Salt Campaign; served five months in prison; feminist editor, educator and playwright; first Indian delegate to UN Human Rights Commission which drafted Universal Declaration, insisting that instead of "men" it read "all human beings are created free and equal"; chaired UN Human Rights committee on enforcement of rights; advocated Human Rights court; first delegate on UN Commission on Women; gave first Indian flag on behalf of women 1947; drafted Indian constitution; member of WILPF.

  • 1900 Maria Rabaté (née Bernuchon) born Moncontour, Vienne, France (d. 1985). French Communist politician dedicated to postwar peace, opposing wars in Vietnam, Korea, Algiers, and to nuclear weapons.

  • 1915 Inga Thorsson born Malmö, Sweden (d. 1994). Disarmament expert; Nobel prize nominee; ambassador to UN 1966, 1970-82, to Israel 1964; headed Swedish delegation to UN Disarmament Conferences 1974-82; member of parliament; founded first Swedish peace corps (SCI) camp Tostarp 1937; proposed first world environment conference; member WILPF.

Women's peacemaking on this day

  • 1983 Women for Peace protested East Berlin: Barbara Linke, Katja Havemann, Gisela Metz.

  • 2010 30 Women in Black demonstrated Belgrade as reminder of Srebrenica massacre.

  • 2011 Women's Initiative for Peace opened six-day WINPeace Conflict Resolution Camp for Greek, Turkish, and Cypriot Youth at Istanbul's Robert College.

  • 2015 The Somalian government appointed six women as prosecutors to fight corruption and advocate for women and children victims of crime.