Marie Lous-Mohr born Mandal, Norway February 19, 1892 (d. 1973). Norwegian nonviolent resister; International President of WILPF, 1952-56. Spent two years in Nazi concentration camp for disobeying Nazi teaching instructions.
“We have learned that no sacrifice is too great or great enough in building an enduring peace.” (July 1945, Dalecarlia, Sweden WILPF meeting, in Randall, Improper Bostonian, p. 417; photo http://bit.ly/JpMziR)
L. Hunter Lovins (née Sheldon) born Ripton, VT February 26, 1950. Pioneer in field of sustainable development. Recipient of Right Livelihood Award, 1983; delegate to UN conference on sustainability, 2002; opposed Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq War.
Clemence Sophia Harned Lozier born Plainfield, NJ December 11, 1813 (d. 1888). Physician and reformer; suffrage leader; promoter of international arbitration; founded women's medical school, 1863; daughter of a Quaker. (photo connect in.com)
Chiara Lubich (née Sylvia Lubich) born Trent, Italy January 22, 1920 (d. 2008). Founded Focolare Peace Movement, 1943.
"To love the other's nation as one loves one's own. . . to tend towards a universal sharing of goods. . . I dream of a world with unity in the diversity of its peoples." (A dream for the 2000; photo Wikipedia)
Margaret Bright Lucas born Rochdale, Lancashire, England July 18, 1818 (d. 1890). Quaker absolute pacifist, suffragist, and temperance leader. First president of World’s Women Christian Temperance Union, 1885. President, Women’s Peace and Arbitration Association. Vice-president of Peace Society.
“In politics, my principle is that women should work for women until they receive justice.” (May W. Sewell, Congress of Representative Women, 1894, p. 400; photo congregationallibrary)
Sylvie Lucas born Luxembourg June 30, 1965. As president of UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dealt with global financial crisis and peacebuilding, 2009.
"The Council is in a unique position to forge closer ties among all relevant actors, so as to maximize the UN’s potential to serve the needs of humanity." (Jan. 15, 2009; photo UN)
Gertrud Luckner (née Jane Hart) born Liverpool, England September 26, 1900 (d. 1995). German pacifist resister against Hitler; Quaker convert to Catholicism; rescued Jews in Germany until sent to Ravensbrück 1943 for 19 months; honored by Yad Vashem.
"I thought: ‘You must always comfort them. The only thing I can do is walk the way together with them.’ The whole thing had been so terrible—the deportations, one city after another—so that it really did not much matter anymore what happened to me." (quote and photo Pax Christi International)
Rae Luckock (née Margarette Rae Morrison) born Arthur, Ontario, Canada October 15, 1893 (d. 1972). Canadian peace activist; social reformer; feminist. One of first women elected to provincial legislature, 1943; first president Congress of Canadian Women, promoting friendship and visits to USSR and China, 1950. Once barred from US for alleged communism.
"To save our children and families from the horrors of atomic war and from the cancer and leukemia producing effects of nuclear tests remains one of our most urgent tasks." (1956 National Congress of Canadian Women; photo collectionscanada. gc)
Marie-Elisabeth Lüders born Berlin, Germany June 25, 1878 (d. 1966). Leading German feminist. First woman to earn PhD in political science in Germany. Member of Weimar Reichstag 1919-21, 1924-30; Bundestag, 1953-61. Lifelong disarmament advocate; delegate to World Disarmament Conference, 1932. Arrested and censored by Nazi regime, 1937.
“War, the unknown Master: The war reigned over all, and with him his companion, Death. He also did not stop for women. There were no casualty lists of the 'heroines of everyday life,' who defended the honor and freedom of their country with their handiwork: Bread and grenades.” (photo Germanhistorydocs)
Paulina Luisi born Colón, Entre Rios, Argentina September 22, 1875 (d. 1949). Uruguayan reformer and abolitionist; socialist; feminist; suffragist. First Uruguayan woman doctor, 1908. As first Latin American woman delegate to League of Nations, she spearheaded discussion on the issue of white slavery. Helped bring about Uruguayan suffrage, 1927. One of five women to attend World Disarmament Conference, 1932.
“Woman is the only one who can protect [humanity] in these tragic times from madness that from time to time overtake men’s minds and plunge millions into barbarous wars of aggression, pillage and conquest. Woman remains the only bastion for the defense of. . . humanity, life itself, lashed with crazed fury by men blinded with hatred.” (radio address, 1936, in Christine Ehrick, Radio and the Gendered, p. 107; photo Wikipedia)
Joanna Lumley born Srinagar, Kashmir, India May 1, 1946. British actress active in international causes of UNICEF, Amnesty International, ActionAid, animal rights; Buddhist.
"You have to feel more involved than just writing out a cheque. Charity is almost the wrong word—I think people are beginning to feel more responsible for the world." (The Guardian, May 9, 2009; photo Wikipedia)
Kristin Lund born Norway May 16, 1958. First woman commander of UN peacekeeping force, Cyprus, 2014; previously served in UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon and Bosnia.
"I think it's time, and I think it's important that other women see that it's possible also in the UN system to get up in the military hierarchy to become a force commander." (Deutsche Welle, May 13, 2004; photo forsvaret.no)
Rosa Lund born Copenhagen, Denmark December 4, 1986. Red-Green member Danish Parliament, 2011-15; teacher; participated in Freedom Flotilla III for Gaza, 2015.
“It is legitimate to resist Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, and it is legitimate to resist in Colombia. But I take distance from the methods used by the two organizations use." (Sep. 12, 2011; photo da.wikipedia)
Sigrid Helliesen Lund born Kristiania, Norway February 23, 1892 (d. 1987). Norwegian Quaker humanitarian and peace activist. WILPF leader active in Nansen Relief program; rescued Jewish children from Nazis; assisted Norwegian resistance from Sweden. Honored by Yad Vashem, 2006.
“[O]pposing outward war is now too simple and must be more far-reaching. Violence in and of itself, including spiritual oppression, is what we need to guard against.” (Friends Journal, Jan. 1997, p. 15)
Mimi Sverdrup Lunden born Solund, Norway June 13, 1894 (d. 1955). Norwegian peace activist; feminist; educator, author, translator; anti-fascist 1930; promoted Nobel prize for Ossietsky; twice imprisoned WWII for aiding refugees; leader of Norwegian Peace Committee 1949; its principal delegate to International Peace Council Paris 1949; opposed atomic weapons and NATO, but resisted Communist takeover. (photo myheritage.com)
Florence Hope Luscomb born Lowell, MA February 6, 1887 (d. 1985). Suffragist; leader of WILPF; MIT-educated architect. Ran for Congress opposing Truman's anti-communism; opposed McCarthyism, Vietnam War, nuclear warfare; considered herself a "citizen of the world."
"I will not answer compulsory questions by government inquisitors into matters of my conscience and opinions. . . I have nothing to hide. . . But I cannot and will not tear up the Constitution and its guaranteed liberties, won with blood and tears. I cannot and will not be a party with you in destroying American democracy." (to Senate Commission, 1955; photo http://bit.ly/K4IMIU)
Adelle Lutz born New York, NY November 13, 1938. American costume designer and actress. As part of antiwar installation exhibit “The Peace Piece”, women in black burkhas walked from Battery Park to Times Square, protesting the Iraq war with slogans “90% OF WAR CASUALTIES ARE CIVILIANS”, 2003.
“We walked shrouded to represent the nameless/voiceless/faceless who do not normally intersect with our lives. 90% of war casualties are civilians with the vast majority being women and children.” (“The Peace Piece”; photo as Aung San Suu Kyi, fanfix.famousfix.com)
Berta Lutz born São Paulo, Brazil August 2, 1894 (d. 1976). One of four women to sign UN Charter 1945. Brazilian zoologist and leading feminist who led for right of women to vote; diplomat who signed treaty on Diplomatic Asylum 1954; co-founded Pan American Association of Women 1922.
"The souls of women have mingled in a common ideal, to contribute their share to the progress of the world." (Pan American Union, Baltimore, 1922; photo Wikipedia)
Gertrud Lutz Fankhauser born Rechthalten, Fribourg, Switzerland March 7, 1911 (d. 1995). Swiss humanitarian. As wife of Swiss consul, she looked after German civilians interned in Palestine, 1939-41. Helped rescue over 60,000 Jews in Hungary, 1942-45; hid 50 in basement, Budapest, 1944-45. Offered postwar children’s aid in Yugoslavia and Finland. Served as first head of UNICEF Poland, 1949-51; UNICEF Brazil, 1951-65; Turkey, 1965-66. Later headed UNICEF Europe and North Africa. Cared for a million children in Biafra War, 1967-68. Awarded Yad Vashem Righteous of the Nations, 1964.
“[A]fter the war. . . I wanted to devote all my time and strength towards helping children and mothers.” (Reinhard Freiberg interview, April 24, 1984; photo frodo.at)
Otilia Lux de Coti born Santa Cruz del Quiché, Guatemala January 21, 1949. Mayan leader; only woman on national Truth and Reconciliation Commission 1997; Minister of Culture 2000-4; Executive Director of International Forum of Indigenous Women.
"Violence, discrimination and racism are scourges that prevent the full development of indigenous women and girls. . . institutional violence is particularly evident when we consider that the rule of law is not equal for all citizens." (UN Women, April 25, 2017)
“It was determined a genocide had been committed in the light of multiple events, like the massacres, the compulsive displacement of many peoples, burning everything and leaving just scorched earth behind; they burned houses, they burned animals. So the people had to flee in order to survive. . . So all those elements made the law experts determine that there really was a genocide in Guatemala. There really was! We saw it, we can confirm it.” (to UN Commission on Indigenous, Madre, June 6, 2013; photo Iknow politics)
Women in Peace
is dedicated to highlighting the achievements of extraordinary, peacemaking women from around the world.
