Jeanne Devos born Kortenaken, Belgium January 9, 1935. Nun; worked over 40 years to end child slavery in India; Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
"People should hear the voices of these brave children and know their dreams." (The Hindu, Jan. 9, 2011; photo http://bit.ly/Ac5DFT)
Princess Diana (née Spencer) born Sandringham, Norfolk, England July 1, 1961 (d. 1997). Influential leader in campaign against Landmines 1997, visiting Bosnia and Angola war zones; pioneer in compassion for victims of AIDS 1987.
"The more expeditiously we can end this plague on earth caused by the landmine, the more readily can we set about the constructive tasks to which so many give their hand in the cause of humanity." (June 12, 1997 speech; photo heraldsun.com.au)
Ellen Diederich born Dortmund, Germany March 26, 1944. German “peace worker” for over 50 years; set up Peace Tent at Nairobi 1985 for dialogue of women enemies; drove Peace Bus 12,000 miles, to Greenham Common, Nevada test site; protested El Salvador war; women’s peace marches 1981-3; active in ecofeminist peace group Women in Life on Earth; established International Women's garden and International Women's Peace Archive 1990 at Oberhausen, Ruhr.
“War is man-made. Peace, too.” (her motto)
“War does not solve problems, war is the problem. Violence begets violence and hatred, which in turn generates violence and hatred.” (memoir Krieg löst keine Probleme; photo hinter-den-schlagzeile)
Amke Dietert-Scheuer born Brake, Lower Saxony, Germany May 14, 1955. Green Party member of German Bundestag 1994-9, 2002; scholar of Turkish, lectured Istanbul; member of Amnesty International concern for Kurdish refugees; development consultant.
On Bosnia: "These internal refugees need to be dealt with first. They still have people living in tents. In the present situation, things simply aren't ready for the refugees to return." (Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 11, 1996; photo moenchengladbach.hopto.org)
Maria Dietz (née Hilgers) born Düsseldorf, Germany February 7, 1894 (d. 1980). Teacher; pacifist; activist in world peace organization of mothers and teachers, 1930s; worked to ban war toys, and promote international understanding. Co-founded political organization Christian Social People's Party, 1945; two-term member of German parliament, 1949-57. (photo http://bit.ly/JQmdGU)
Hedwig Dohm (née Schlesinger) born Berlin, Germany September 20, 1831 (d. 1919). German Jewish writer, pioneering feminist, Socialist.
"I hate Hate." (Vienna, in Wider den Haß, vol. 17, p. 10, 1915)
"War is Cannibalism. The cannibal is literally saturated with the flesh of his fellow men, as the war feeds the countless mouths of the cannon, the yaw insatiable for human food." ("The Abuse of Death." 1917; c. 1870 photo de.Wikipedia)
Agnes Dollan (née Moir) born Glasgow, Scotland August 16, 1887 (d. 1966). Pacifist feminist and suffragette; Socialist politician; public antiwar protests throughout World War I; led local Women's International League 1915; co-founded Women's Peace Crusade 1916; jailed in rent protest 1917.
"If the government could afford £30,000,000 for warships it can afford to finance work for the unemployed." (election speech, Dec. 4, 1921; photo radicalglasgow.blog)
Marthe Dortel-Claudot born Vic-sur-Cère, France August 20, 1907. Co-founded nonviolent Catholic fellowship Pax Christi 1945 for reconciliation with Germans.
"Jesus died for all. Nobody should be excluded from my prayer." (journal, Advent 1944; quote and photo Pax Christi International)
Elise Dosenheimer born Ungstein, Bavarian Palatinate, Germany November 22, 1868. (d. 1957). Scholar of German literature. Pacifist friend of WILPF leaders; advocate of women’s contribution to peace. Lecturer at first WILPF peace summer school Vienna, 1920; delegate to WILPF conference, Vienna, 1921. Deported to French concentration camp, from which she was rescued by US WILPF.
On equality for women: "[It is] an attempt with the help of women to work for the political, moral and social peace in the world." (quote and photo Maya Linthe, Bücherfrauenblog, Nov. 18, 2014)
Sue Doughty born York, England April 13, 1948. British Quaker pacifist Liberal Democratic member of Parliament 2001-5 who opposed Iraq War and international arms sales.
"Even though some of the countries have peace, it is a fragile peace. The last thing that we want is a lot of guns, small arms and larger munitions washing around in such countries." (addressing Parliament, Nov. 6, 2003; photo yournextmp.com)
Elizabeth Dowdeswell (née Patton) born Belfast, Northern Ireland November 9, 1944. Canadian stateswoman; first woman head UN Environmental Program as Under Secretary 1992-8; professor environmental studies; Lt. Governor Ontario 2014.
“People, young and old, must gain the capacity to make sound environmental decisions; to act instinctively to protect life on Earth. . . We know that no environmental issue has yet emerged that is not within the capabilities of the human race to resolve. We have tremendous knowledge and technological capability. And we have very compelling evidence on most issues for the need to act. But, somehow, what is still missing is the political will to do so.” (Aug. 11, 1997 UN Gen. Assembly; photo royalroads.ca)
Margaret Drabble born Sheffield, Yorkshire, England June 5, 1939. Quaker pacifist, leading British novelist who openly opposed Iraq War.
"A nation that can paint those faces on death machines must be insane." (Daily Telegraph, May 7, 2003; photo Cambridge Univ.)
Ingeborg Drewitz (née Neubert) born Berlin, Germany January 10, 1923 (d. 1986). German novelist and playwright. Worked with Amnesty International; protested nuclear weapons. Awarded Ossietzky Medal for Human Rights, 1980.
“The hope of my generation said: Never again war! Never again armament! Never again fascism! They said: take responsibility.” (Ecumenical church conference, Berlin, 1985)
Gabrielle Duchêne born Paris, France February 26, 1878 (d. 1954). French radical; pacifist; journalist; opposed imperialism. Founded French WILPF; organized national Peace Action Week, 1930, Women's Congress Against War and Fascism, 1934. As the enfant terrible of WILPF, she called for sanctions against Italy following Mussolini's attack on Ethiopia.
Peggy Duff (née Margaret Doreen Eames) born London, England February 8, 1910 (d. 1981). Peace organizer. Worked for postwar relief organization Save Europe Now, 1945-48; helped establish the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), 1957; CND Organizing Secretary, 1957-1967. Organized Aldermaston Marches; voiced opposition to Vietnam War and Greek junta. Described by Noam Chomsky as, "One of the people who really changed modern history."
"Which is to be banned, the H-bomb or the human race?" (Lead banner in first Aldermaston March, 1958 http://bit.ly/dvO5Zy; photo Ken Garland http://bit.ly/JGtn2W)
Greta Duisenberg (née Greetje Nieuwenhuizen) born Heerenveen, Friesland November 6, 1942. Dutch opponent of Israeli occupation; accused of anti-semitism.
"If [Israelis] want really to have peace, they should stop confiscating land all the time for all those settlements. . . I think there should be peace and the military situation of the Israeli government should stop because their actions are terrible. You can't have peace when you have all these killings around. There should be dialogue and negotiations.” (Haaretz, Feb. 11, 2017; photo Israel-palestina.info)
Yvonne Dumont (née Fafe) born Paris, France September 3, 1911 (d. 1986). French Communist politician; active in Resistance WWII; member of postwar Movement for Peace; delegate of pacifist Women’s International Democratic Federation to UNESCO; believed women worked best politically through pacifist protests.
“Their maternal instinct renders them more quickly empathetic in the suffering and anguish of the women in Vietnam; their instinctive horror of war making them more apt in understanding that there is no true security for any people as long as war rages in any part of the world.” (1967, Alessandro Brogi, Confronting America, p. 347; photo senat.fr)
Denise Durant born Jemappes, Belgium February 23, 1903 (d. 1969). Belgian feminist; socialist organizer; anti-militarist; pacifist.
Manuela Dviri Vitali Norsa born Padua, Italy January 13, 1949. Italian-Israeli peace activist; author and playwright. Protested war after the death of her soldier son, 1998; received Peres Award for Peace and Reconciliation for saving Palestinian children, 2005.
"We are all 'citizens' of the same world. Why destroy it and destroy ourselves?"
"I believe it will be very difficult to achieve peace and reconciliation without the presence of women at the negotiating table." (quotes and photo Ara Pacis peace initiative/forgiveness)
Women in Peace
is dedicated to highlighting the achievements of extraordinary, peacemaking women from around the world.
