Elena Lucrezia Cornara Piscopia

 (first woman to earn a doctoral degree)

She was born June 5, 1646 in Venice, Italy to a noble and intellectual Venetian family.  Her own grandfather had a library of nearly 2,000 volume, so it was at an early age, that Elena began her own studies even though women, at that time, were not encouraged to go to school.  It was a privilege reserved for men only. It was her father who began her training.

At the age of seven she began the study of Latin and Greek and soon became proficient in both languages.  She also mastered Hebrew, Spanish, Arabic, and French.  Her later studies included mathematics, the sciences, and she fell in love with theosophy and philosophy. And, she didn't focus all of her energies exclusively on books.  In fact, by the time she was seventeen, she could sing, compose music, and was adept at playing the violin, harp, clavichord, and the harpsichord.

Elena was not only brilliant, she was also beautiful, and she had any number of suitors. But marriage was the farthest thing from the young scholars mind.  She turned down marriage proposals and took a vow of chastity, and when she came of age, she wanted to enter the Benedictine Order, but her father refused permission.  Instead, he sent her to the University of Padua to further her studies.  

Because she had never experienced university life (no school at the time admitted women for advanced studies), her preparation in the highest disciplines of philosophy and theology were comparable to that of any man schooled at a university.  And, by now, she had gained a reputation throughout Europe for her intellect.  In fact, foreign visitors sought her out for demonstrations of her learning. There was one occasion in 1677, while in the presence of the entire college, that she held a philosophical debate in Greek and Latin.  This demonstration prepared the way for her to receive a degree in theology, but that effort was blocked because of her sex. Eventually, she received a degree in philosophy instead.  In addition to the degree, she received the doctor's ring, the teacher's cape, and the poet's laurel crown.

So, at the age of 32, Elena had become the first woman in the world to receive a doctorate degree...and the university did not offer another degree to a woman for another seventy years. After receiving her degree, she spent the last seven years of her life focusing on learning and ministering to the poor.  She died on July 26, 1684 of tuberculosis.  She was only 38 years old.

In memory of this remarkable woman, her likeness was created on a stained glass window at Vassar College, and she is immortalized in a statue at the university from which she received her degree.  For many years, she was considered a phenomenon as the time and place in which she lived had no way of explaining her, but the amazed opinions of her many admirers go to show how far women had to come before casting off their intellectual shackles. 

Rani Lakshmi Bai

(National heroine and the epitome of female bravery in India)

She was born November 19, 1835 at Kashi...which is presently known as Varanasi; her birth name was Maharashtrian; her family called her Manu.   Her father was a Brahmin...her mother a cultured and God fearing woman who died when Manu was only four, and as a result, the responsibility of raising her fell upon her father.  And, not only did he make sure that his daughter had completed her education, she also learned horseback riding, sword fighting, and shooting targets with a gun...not your typical trainings for a woman back in those days.

It was 1842 when Manu married the Maharaja of Ghansi  in the temple of the Lord Ganesh and became the Rani of Jahnsi, and after the marriage, she was given the name Lakshmi.  In 1851 she gave birth to a son who, unfortunately died when he was only four months old.  Not much later, her husband fell ill and became very weak.  Having no heir, the couple decided to adopt a child, and, to make sure that the British had no grounds to raise an issue over the adoption, she had the adoption witnessed by the local British representatives.  Alas, this did no good.

On November 21, 1853, the Maharaja died; Lakshmi was 18 years old at the time. The British rulers refused to accept the adopted son as the heir to the throne, and the government of India agreed stating that Jhansi would be broken down.  The British confiscated the state jewels and an order was passed ordering Lakshmi to leave the Jhansi fort.  But, Lakshmi refused to give up on Jhansi and in doing so, became a symbol of patriotism and self-respect.  

Lakshmi formed a volunteer army...both men and women folk...who were all given military training to fight a battle, and during 1857, the successfully defended Jhansi from raids by neighboring rajas.  Then, in January of 1858, the British army attacked.  The conflict went on for two weeks, and Lakshmi was determined not to surrender. The shelling to the fort was fierce, and the women were carrying ammunition and food to the soldier.  Lakshmi, herself, was overseeing the defense of the city.  It was a fierce battle, but eventually, Jhansi fell to the British.

Lakshmi dressed herself as a man and had her baby strapped to her back and with the horse reins in her mouth and swords in each of her hands, she managed to escape with some of her warriors.  They made it as far as Kalpi where she joined with other rebel forces. There, she donned warriors clothes and rode into battle to save the Gwalior Fort. She fought valiantly, but, however, on the second day of the battle, on June 18, 1858, Lakshmi, the great heroine of the first struggle for Indian freedom, fell on the battlefield.  It has been said that a Brahmin found her lying unconscious on the battlefield and carried her to an ashram where she died.  She was 22 years old.  

Because of her bravery, courage, and wisdom, and her progressive views on women's empowerment in India, as well as her sacrifices, Lakshmi has become an icon for the independence movement.  When the Indian National Army created its first female unit, it was named after her. 

 

Nellie McClung

Nellie Letitia Moody was born in 1873 in Chattsworth, Ontario.  When she was 7, her family moved to Manitoba.  Nellie was still a young girl when she began to notice that men and women were treated differently, and she began to question traditional women's roles.  For example, Nellie wondered why it was that girls were not allowed to participate in football or to compete in track, and she was never really satisfied with the response...'skirts would fly upward and legs would show.'  All she knew was that she wanted to play, and play she did.

When Nellie first began teaching school, she was 16 years old...and during recess, Nellie, in her long skirt and starched blouse, could be found playing football with the other students.  Parents were outraged.  Then, as a young woman, Nellie became involved with the Women's Christian Temperance Union, an organization which was particularly concerned with the social and health problems cause by alcohol use.  The group also fought many other social problems that faced women and children and spearheaded the campaign to give women the right to vote.

Then, in 1896, Nellie married Robert Wesley McClung, and during the first 16 years of their marriage, she bore five children and published her first novel, "Sowing Seeds in Danny", and became an instant success.  Meanwhile, her personal commitment to women's rights became her political cause as well, and she began to speak out for women's suffrage.

In 1911, the family moved to Winnipeg, and there Nellie joined "The Canadian Women's Press Club."  She became active in speaker's bureau and traveled across Canada, the United States, and even spoke in Great Britain in support of social changes such as prohibition, property rights for wives and widows, access to education and better laws to regulate safety and working conditions.

The family moved again in 1914; this time then moved to Edmonton where Nellie again led the fight for female suffrage, achieving success in 1916 when women's suffrage became law and women in Manitoba were the first in Canada to achieve the right to vote.  When the war broke out, she threw herself into the war effort and was an enthusiastic supporter of the Red Cross and in 1921 was elected to the Alberta Legislature where she fought for mother's allowances, public health nursing, and free medical and dental care for children amongst other things. She was then defeated because of her temperance stance when she ran again in 1926. 


Through the 1930's, her writing career flourished and she published several newspaper articles, short stories, wrote another novel, and a book of her memoirs.  She was, throughout her life, an active Methodist, and she fought for women's right to be ministers in the United Church of Canada.  In 1933, they moved to Victoria.  She was the first women appointed to CBC Board of Governor (1936-1942) and in 1938, Nellie became a delegate to the League of Nations.  She was also an advocate of divorce reform.

 Nellie died at her home near Victoria, British Columbia on September 1, 1951; she was 77 years old. The efforts of Nellie and those who shared her goals and enthusiasm effected significant change in women's lives, and she has continued to live in the spirit of Canadian women's ongoing struggle to achieve equality. Her Winnepeg home at 97 Chestnut Street was designated in the Memorable Manitobans: The Homes Program.     

Artemisia

  
(A brilliant military strategist and commander who advised Xerxes I during the Persian Wars)

She was born in the late 6th century b.c.e.in Haaalicarnassus, a Greek state on the west coast of what is now Turkey; the exact date of her birth is not known.  She was the daughter of Lygdamus and a Cretan woman whose name is unknown but it is believed she came from Crete.  Artemisia was named after the Goddess Artemis, and she is the only woman that the historian, Herodotus attributes with the virtue of courage...and almost impossible quality for a women to possess in those days.

She married the King of Halicarnassus in about 500 B.c. just prior to the Ionian Revolt that helped trigger the war between Greece and Persia.  When her husband, whose name has been lost to history, died, only a few years later, and although women were not the ideal choice as ruler, Artemisia took the throne herself upon his death.  Persian cities preferred for their rulers to be men, but she was not your typical woman, and when the Persian king, Xerxes invaded Greece, one of his allies was Artemisia who joined him with five warships.  

Her major claim occurred during the naval engagement of Salamis when the Persian and Greek navies met in a decisive battle.  Now, prior to the fight, Artemisia had against a naval battle and argued that he would lose his fleet, but Xerxes chose to follow the advice of chief admirals; then, on September 20, 480 b.c.e., the Persians met the Greeks on the sea in the channel of Salamis.  Artemisia herself was aboard one of her ships, commanding their movements.  The Greeks shattered the Persian attack, and Artemisia managed to escape with the Greeks bearing down on her ship...her escape route blocked by a confused melee of ships.  

She realized now that the cause was lost and that it was time to look for her own survival, so she planned her escape.  Suddenly, Artemisia's ship picked up speed and headed straight for the other ships; if a collision was inevitable, she was going to make sure it was on her terms.   At full speed, she rammed her ship into into one of the Persian ships.  It was recorded that Xerxes, watching from the beach, thought that she had destroyed an enemy ship, praised her for her bravery, and, on the other hand, the Athenians stopped chasing her because her action had convinced them that she was one of their allies.  

In an era where the dominant culture limited the role of women to wife and mother, Artemisia not only successfully ruled a kingdom, but also led troops in battle.  And, although we know nothing of her death, the very fact that her grandson later ruled Halicarnassus, suggests that her rule was stable.  It is so sad that far too often historians have tended to generalize about the role of women in the ancient world, but the accounts of Artemisia serve to show that exceptional women could attain and hold power. 

Murasaki Shikibu

(Japanese writer of the late Helian period; she wrote the world's first psychological novel)

Murasaki Shikibu was not her real name, which remains  unknown. She was born 973 CE into a middle-level family of nobility.  Her father was a scholar and a man of literacy who took great pains to see that his daughter, as well as his son, were well learned...and she was educated in Chinese and Buddhist classics as well as in Japanese literature.  

When she was in her early twenties, she was married to an older man who was a distant relative.  Their only child, a daughter, was born in 999.  Then, in 1001, her husband died leaving Murasaki with a daughter and much grief and pain.  Shortly thereafter, she was brought into the court of the imperial family as the youngest consort to the Emperor Ichijo due to her writing talent and brilliant mind.

It was in this background as a lady-in-waiting that she began writing her diary which recounts her life at court...while providing insight into her thoughts.  For example, Mursaki wrote about how uncomfortable she was in court life.  She felt it was all far too frivolous.  She used some of what she'd recorded in her diary to write a fictional account about a prince named Gengi; it was the first known novel ever written.  In it, she looks closely at the relationships of men and women and the unfortunate circumstances in which women find themselves placed in.  

Little is known about her later life, it is possible that after the death of the emperor, she retired to a convent.  Although it is not certain as to the date of Murasaki's death, she most likely passed away shortly after she finished the novel...perhaps when she was about forty or so. The early manuscripts and scrolls have survived through the ages, and the novel has been translated into many languages. Nearly all of her diary can be read at the following site.  It is beautiful. 

The Diary of Muraska Shikabu

Female Genital Mutilation

I remember the day I first learned of this atrocity going on against females throughout the world.  I was reading a woman's magazine and came across an article by a woman who had recently come to the United States...and I remember how my skin crawled and how angry I was as I read her story.  And as I read, I thought about how really lucky I am.  I wanted to do something, to stop this needless tradition, but felt so helpless.  I am still helpless in that I, as one person cannot halt it from occurring, but I learned that I can join with others to voice my opinion.  Strength comes in numbers.

"The knife cut down the guardian of the village today.
Now he is dead and gone.
Before the village was dirty,
But now without the guardian it is clean.
So look at us, we are only women and the men have come to
beat the tam-tam.
They have phalli like the elephants.  
They have come while we are bleeding.
Now back to the village where a thick Phallus is waiting.
Now we can make love because our sex is clean."

Throughout the world, harmful traditions to women are being carried out within the family. The above lyrics are sung by young Kenyan girls after they have endured the process of female genital mutilation,  sometimes referred to as female circumcision.  It is a horrendous injustice to women that occurs everyday in this world, but it is so culturally entrenched with the citizens of many African, Middle Eastern, and other immigrant communities worldwide. 

The types of circumcision are:

• Type 1:  involves removal of the clitoral hood with or without removal of part or all of the clitoris.
• Type 2:  involves removal of the clitoris together with part or all of the labia minora.
• Type 3:  removal of all or part of the external genitaliaand stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening leaving a small hole for urine and menstrual flow.
• Type 4:  unclassified and includes all other types of operations on female genitalia including piercing, stretching, cauterizing, and incisions to the vaginal well.

The procedure is often carried out with crude tools such as scissors, scalpels, razor blades, and even shards of glass are used for mutilating the genitalia.  In addition, the mutilation most often occurs in an unsanitary room.  Anesthetics are rarely used, and the female is usually held down while screaming in pain as she is mutilated. It is a practice can lead to infection, mental trauma, sterility, complications in childbirth, hemorrhaging, and death.

Female circumcision is a very unnecessary procedure which is believed to practiced to reduce the sex drive and keep girls virgins until they marry and to prevent rape from happening to them. It is a tradition and social custom which has nothing to do with religion.  Girls who have very little education and are dependent upon their parents have little choice. If they remain uncircumcised, their families will not be allowed to arrange a marriage, and they will be cast out of the village with no means of taking care of themselves.   Furthermore, those that do resist are often cut by force.   

In many countries where the practice is widespread, laws have been passed to make FGM illegal.  In addition, widespread education on its dangers has had some effect, but so much more needs to be done. Unfortunately, there is no miracle solution but perhaps through the process of one small step at a time, this practice will one day be eliminated.  For further reading, please see the following:


FGC Education and Networking Project

WHO 

Susette La Flesche (Bright Eyes)

(Native American lecturer, writer and artist from the Omaha tribe in Nebraska)
 
Susette La Flesche was born on the Omaha reservation in 1854, the very same year that the Omaha gave up their Nebraska hunting grounds.  She was the eldest daughter of Joseph La Flesche, the last recognized chief of the Omaha.  She attended a Presbyterian school for an English language education and then, after she expressed a desire to further her education, was sent to the Elizabeth Institute for Young Ladies, a private school in Elizabeth, New Jersey where she became known for her writing ability.  After completing her schooling, she returned to the Omaha reservation where she taught classes at a government school for several years.  

It was then that Susette became involved in the struggle for justice for her people by taking up the cause of the Ponca people whose lands had been taken away resulting in the loss of life.  Accompanied by her brother, Francis, and their chief, Standing Bear, Susette began touring the East Coast lecturing on the unfairness of this action.  Her presence on the stage won her many friends and helped in the outcome of the Standing Bear trial in Omaha; in fact, her fiery speeches eventually resulted in the Dawes General Allotment Act to be passed in 1887. It was after the trial that Susette became known as "Bright Eyes"

She had been joined in her crusade by Thomas H. Tibbles, a writer for the Omaha World Herald, and in 1882 they were married and settled down together on the Omaha reservation.  They did, however, continue with their lecture tours and in 1886, they traveled to England and Scotland on a ten month tour.  Here, Bright Eyes was well-received by both nobility and literary circles.  In 1890, they returned to Omaha, and Tibbles went back to work for the Omaha Herald.  

A gifted writer and artist, Bright Eyes was the first Native American to be published in the commercial press when her "An Indian Woman's Letter" was published.  Then, with Fannie Reed Griffen, she co-authored a book, "Oo-ma-ha Ta-wa-tha" in 1898 and illustrated it.  Her art work appeared in several books.  And, she continued to advocate for Indian concerns before government committees.  In 1902, she and Thomas moved to Bancroft to live a month the Omaha.  Bright Eyes died there on May 26, 1903 at her home.  She was only 49 years old.


She was eulogized in the United States Senate and is remembered as the first woman to speak out for the cause of Native Americans.  She was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame 1983.