Dorothy Stowe (née Rabinowitz) born Providence, RI December 22, 1920 (d. 2010). Quaker by convincement. Co-founded Don't Make a Wave Committee to protest the Amchitka atomic tests, eventually becoming the organization Greenpeace, 1971.
"Who knew that four people at a kitchen table could give rise to a movement that has offices in 40 countries? You couldn't possibly have predicted it." (mid-day.com, July 24, 2010; photo quazoo.com)
Harriet Beecher Stowe born Litchfield, CT June 14, 1812 (d. 1896). Most powerful abolitionist writer, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1852.
"Women are the real architects of society." (The Chimney-Corner, p. 214, 1868; 1853 portrait by Francis Holl)
Anna Lord Strauss born New York City September 20, 1899 (d. 1979). Internationalist daughter of Quaker; delegate to founding of FAO Quebec 1945; US delegate to UN General Assembly 1951-2; editor, leader of League of Women Voters.
"[A priority] that we had at that time was to see that we got more food to the European countries, because it was the time when there was famine over there." (Jan. 22, 1973, oral history by R. McKinzie; photo Truman library)
Lucy Deane Streatfeild born Madras, India July 31, 1865 (d. 1950). British Social worker and suffragist; WILPF founding member. Secretary, Fawcett Commission, condemning Boer War concentration camps, 1901. (photo Wikipedia)
Jessie Street (née Lillingston) born Chota Nagpur, Bihar, India April 18, 1889 (d. 1970). Australian feminist, Socialist and peace leader; only woman on Australian delegation to San Francisco Conference founding UN; Delegate of UNESCO 1947-8, vice chairperson; UN Human Rights Commission 1948; founded League of Nations Union 1918; executive of World Peace Council 1950; opposed Cold War and nuclear weapons; defended aboriginal rights, leading to successful referendum 1967.
"Vital changes of policy have been brought about by moral pressure." (Australian Dict. of Biog.; photo vrroom.naa.gov.au)
Barbra Streisand born Brooklyn, NY April 24, 1942. Singer; antiwar advocate. Opposed Iraq War and global warming.
"I find bringing the country to the brink of war unilaterally five weeks before an election questionable—and very, very frightening." (New York Times, Sept. 30, 2002)
"After nine long years, over eight billion taxpayer dollars spent, nearly 4,500 US soldiers killed, over 32,000 seriously wounded, and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians dead, we now can assert that our government invaded Iraq based on a big lie." (April 2, 2012; photo Wikipedia)
Vivian Stromberg born Brooklyn, NY August 16, 1941 (d. 2015). Freedom Rider. Nuclear Freeze organizer, 1982. Co-founded women’s human rights organization MADRE, 1983; Executive Director, 1990-2011. Opposed Contra War; sent aid to Iraqi women in Gulf War; offered aid in Balkan War.
“When you know your rights, instead of begging for something, you start asking that it not be taken away, Your whole body language changes; you stop crying.” (O Magazine, 2008; photo awid)
Anna Louise Strong born Friend, Nebraska November 24, 1885 (d. 1970). American journalist; pacifist; Socialist. Opposed WWI militarism and draft; defended conscientious objectors; arrested and tried for anti-conscription stand, not convicted by hung jury. Worked with AFSC Volga famine relief, 1921; long time supporter of Communist China.
"Victory depends not on the power of weapons, but on awakening of consciousness of man." (Beijing, 1956; photo wikicom pd)
Sophia Sturge born Edgbaston, Birmingham, England January 5, 1849 (d. 1936). British peace campaigner; Quaker absolute pacifist; pioneer in women’s international peacemaking; supported Indian independence; promoted arbitration and world peace; worked with Neutrality League to stop World War I; helped enemy aliens in war; postwar relief for German children; niece and namesake of pioneer woman abolitionist.
“It has been a great hope, and a pleasure, to have been brought into contact with so many women from different nations and I do hope we shall all be better friends in the future, and that we may be able to do something, by knowing each other better, to prevent war between the nations of Europe ever being possible again.” (to Aleksandra Gripenberg, July 30, 1890, McFadden, Golden Cables of Sympathy; p. 30 portrait geni)
Trudie Styler born Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England January 6, 1954. Actress and film producer. Co-founded Rainforest Foundation to save endangered species and peoples, 1989. Showed Chinese repression of peaceful protest in documentary Moving Mountains, 1994. UNICEF Ambassador, 2004
“The legacy of Tiananmen Square lives on in these and other prisoners who continue to languish in secret labor camps, in state prisons, and under house arrest. As long as they are bound, none of us are free.” (CNN, Jun. 3, 2011; photo imdb)
Ruth Suckow Nuhn born Hawarden, IA August 6, 1892 (d. 1960). Quaker novelist and poet who supported conscientious objection in World War II.
"[T]urning away from. . . the doctrine, not of power and might and darkness, but of goodwill, of lives of communal, not tribal effort, and light, more light." (New Hope, 1942)
Fadwa Suleiman born Aleppo, Syria May 17, 1970. Syrian actress and playwright who opposed armed resistance; produced play in Paris, “The Messengers of Love”.
“This is the story of Syria, and the story of all nations that suffered wars.”
“[It is an] epic theatrical play that told the story of the Syrian Revolution from its nonviolent and hopeful beginnings, until the state of destruction, paralysis and utter loss.” (syriauntold, Feb. 22, 2014; photo Wikipedia)
Razia Sultana born July 5, 1973 Rakhine, Myanmar. Sultana is a Rohingya lawyer, researcher and educator specializing in trauma, mass rape and trafficking of Rohingya girls and women, now practicing law in Bangladesh. She has been working with Rohingya women and girls in the refugee camps in Bangladesh documenting the stories of women and girls who fled Myanmar, exposing the widespread and systematic use of sexual violence during ‘clearance operations’ against the Rohingya. She is a Senior Researcher with Kalandan Press, a coordinator of the Free Rohingya Coalition, Director of Arakan Rohingya National Organization’s women section and the founder of Rohingya Women Welfare.
“First she must trust in herself. She must grow the confidence to say: Yes I can. I am not a burden. If women can think that, they can achieve anything.”
Samina Faheem Sundas born Punjab, Pakistan July 19, 1955. American Muslim community organizer. Founded American Muslim Voice to cultivate interfaith dialogue, 2003. Awarded Fellowship of Reconciliation Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Prize, 2007.
“We have made beautiful relationships with all ethnicities and all faith groups. I know this path can take us to the peace that we all want in our world." (San Francisco Chronicle, March 16, 2014; photo Pakistanilink.org)
Barbro Sundback born Ǻland Islands December 22, 1945. Finnish legislator, vice-president Nordic Council, 2005; founded Ǻland Peace organization, 1992; opposed Iraq War, nuclear weapons.
"The main obstacle to peace is the conception that war is somehow inevitable. That concept is built into the patriarchal structures of our society, and the people who uphold it are probably the ones who are themselves ready to use violence to achieve their goals. If you believe violence is a solution, it becomes one." (Apr. 16, 2007, World Peoples Blog; photo world-citizenship.org)
Bertha von Suttner (née Kinsky) born Prague June 9, 1843 (d. 1914). Author of antiwar Lay Down Your Arms, 1889; first woman to win Nobel Peace Prize, 1905. Founded Austrian Peace Society, 1891; leader at first Hague Peace Conference, 1899.
"Lay down your arms. Say it to many, to many." (last words; photo nobelprize.org)
Helen Suzman (née Gavronsky) born Germiston, Transvaal, South Africa November 7, 1917 (d. 2009). Apartheid opponent; recipient of UN Human Rights Prize, 1978; member of parliament, 1953-89.
"Let Right Be Done" (epitaph; photo eMemorials)
Valgerður Sverrisdóttir born Eyjafjörður, Iceland March 23, 1950. Icelandic politician. Minister of Industry and Commerce, 1999-2006. 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.
“It is a fact that violations of fundamental human rights are frequently among the roots of conflict and war. The protection of human rights promotes the reinforcement of security and peace in the world.” (Nov. 16, 2006; photo Wikipedia from US Navy)
Gila Svirsky (née Schwartz) born Iselin, NJ September 25, 1946. Israeli peace activist. Co-founded B'Tselem, working for human rights in occupied territories; co-founded Coalition of Women for Peace, 2000. Has maintained a vigil since 1988 for Women in Black holding sign: "End the Occupation."
"Without a negotiated peace for Jerusalem, for which the United States is the linchpin, the unrelenting suffering of Palestinians will continue, Israel will remain insecure and its national values debased, and the United States will continue to pay a price in blood and treasure. Is that enough?" (Ark. Times, September 11, 2009; photo Just Vision)
Helena Swanwick (née Sickert) born Munich, Bavaria June 13, 1864 (d. 1939). British internationalist, feminist, pacifist; delegate to League of Nations 1924, where she was first woman to speak on international politics; opposed World War I; leader of WILPF.
"Women do, I believe, hate war more fervently than men and this is not because they are better than men, or wiser, but because war hits them much harder and has very little to offer in return." (Roots of War, p. 405, 1938; photo spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk)
Women in Peace
is dedicated to highlighting the achievements of extraordinary, peacemaking women from around the world.
