March 23
/Women peacemakers born today
1876 Ada James born Richland Center, WI (d. 1952). Leading Wisconsin suffragist and progressive reformer. Active in WILPF and War Resisters League.
1884 Florence Ellinwood Allen born Salt Lake City, UT (d. 1966). Lawyer and judge; peace activist and poet. First woman in the world to sit on a supreme court, state of Ohio, 1922.
1933 Ceija Stojka born Kraubath, Austria. Romani musician, painter, and author. Auschwitz survivor; writes on human rights and survival in concentration camps.
1950 Valgerður Sverrisdóttir born Eyjafjörður, Iceland. Icelandic politician. First female Foreign Minister of Iceland, 2006-07; oversaw sending of Icelandic peacekeepers to Sri Lanka, 2006; allocated 1 million dollars to UN Peacebuilding Fund, 2006.
Women's peacemaking on this day
1911 Ethel Smyth conducted a performance of her suffragist anthem "March of the Women" during a rally at London's Royal Albert Hall.
2003 Southern Caucasus Regional Coalition Women for Peace established to promote women's role in conflict resolution, peace-building and development in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
2011 Canadian peace-building network PeaceBuild held Women's political participation in peace processes workshop, Ottawa, Canada.