December 10

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Human Rights Day

Women peacemakers born today

  • 1891 Nelly Sachs born Berlin, Germany (d. 1970). German Jewish poet, playwright; awarded Nobel Literature Prize, 1966; awarded German Book Peace Prize, 1965; exiled 1940.

  • 1922 Edith Ballantyne born Czechoslovakia. WILPF International President, 1992-98; Secretary General, Representative at UN; awarded Gandhi Peace Award, 1996; awarded first International Peace Woman Award, 2003.

  • 1943 Tatyana Mamonova born Leningrad. Pioneer Russian dissident feminist writer and artist. Recipient of human rights award by African Peace Network, Accra, 1999, where she was keynote speaker on violence against women & children; exiled 1980.

  • 1974 Maryam Uwais born Washington, D.C. Muslim lawyer; Nigerian; human rights activist.

Women's peacemaking on this day

  • 1867 Wyoming became the first US state to give vote to women.

  • 1916 Grace Abbott organized Women's Peace Party Conference of Oppressed or Dependent Nationalities. Washington, D.C.

  • 1931 Gandhi addresses WILPF audience of 2,000 at Victoria Hall, in Geneva.

  • 1977 Publication of human rights article by Mothers of Plaza del Mayo regarding disappeared women.

  • 1993 Women Raped In War founded Autonomous Women’s Center Against Sexual Violence, Belgrade: "We wish to stress once again that women’s rights are human rights, that human rights are above national interests, and that the State must not kill its citizens."

  • 1999 Approval of UN treaty to allow women to file direct complaints of violence.

  • 2004 Women's Global Charter for Humanity, Kigali, Rwanda. "We women have been marching a long time to denounce and demand an end to the oppression of women and end the domination, exploitation, egotism and unbridled quest for profit breeding injustice, war, conquest and violence."

  • 2006 16 Stateswomen demand end to rape in Darfur.

  • 2014 Kathy Kelly tried for drone protest at Whiteman AFB and sentenced to 3 months in prison.