Eleanor Garst born Nebraska May 20, 1915 (d. 1985). Co-founder Women Strike for Peace 1961, drafted its first appeal; co-founded SANE against nuclear weapons 1957.
“We believe that it is the special responsibility of women—who bear the children and nurture the race—to demand for their families a better future than sudden death.” (Andrea Estepa disser. “Taking the White Gloves Off” p. 35; photo legacy.com)
Alicia Garza born Los Angeles, CA March 4, 1981. Community organizer; anti-racism activist. Co-founded Black Lives Matter movement, 2013.
“When Black people get free, everybody gets free. . . Given the disproportionate impact state violence has on Black lives, we understand that when Black people in this country get free, the benefits will be wide reaching and transformative for society as a whole.” (“A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement,” The Feminist Wire, Oct. 7, 2014; photo yearofwomen.tumblr.com)
Shukrije Gashi born Pristina, Kosovo, Yugoslavia May 22, 1960. Mediator; poet; journalist; lawyer. Director of Partners Center for Conflict Management Kosovo; imprisoned two years for advocacy for Kosovo.
"I am convinced that genuine reconciliation can happen and does happen if and when disputing individuals who see each other as enemies have the opportunity to meet face-to-face and are led by knowledgeable persons who allow them to see the other as a fellow human being." (quote & photo Ara Pacis Initiative on Forgiveness)
Elizabeth Gaskell (née Stevenson) born Chelsea, London, England September 29, 1810 (d. 1865). British novelist who opposed US Civil War.
"Conquering the South won't turn them into friends. . . Compelling them implies the means of compulsion. You will have to hold them in subjection by force, i.e by military occupation. . . Shall you not have henceforward to keep a standing army?" (June 10, 1861, in Letters, p. 265; 1851 portrait by George Richmond, Wikipedia)
Françoise Gaspard born Dreux, Normandy, France June 7, 1945. French feminist sociologist; Socialist Deputy in parliament 1981-8; French representative to UN commission on women 1998-2000; expert on UN Convention on Status of Women CEDAW 2001; sponsor French decade of Culture of Peace and Non-violence, national human rights commission.
"Isolation and boycott measures were taken against South Africa during the apartheid period, women’s rights are Human Rights, therefore such measures must be imposed." (Anne Rapin interview; photo politiquemania.com)
Madeeha Gauhar born Karachi, Pakistan September 21, 1956. Pakistani actress and playwright. Dedicated to peace with India; founded social protest theater Ajoka ("Today") which joined in festivals with Indian women, Lahore, 1983. Directed hit play "Bullah" about nonviolent Sufi saint. Twice jailed for women’s rights protests. Nobel Peace Prize nominee, 2005.
"My vision of my country is that of a liberal, progressive, vibrant, tolerant society—free from fundamentalism and hatred. Defence spending should be cut down to make way for literacy, economic elevation and thriving arts. (vehemently) All those who propagate hate-wave should be thrown into the Arabian Sea."(Chandigarhh Tribune, Nov. 23, 2003; photo pkmart.pk)
Elizabeth Neall Gay born Bucks County, PA November 7, 1819 (d. 1907). Quaker; pacifist; abolitionist. Delegate to first World's Anti-Slavery Convention, where women were denied a say, London, 1840.
"I am proud to have been one of that cursed yet thrice blessed little band who 'braved the fury of the seabed' to attend a Christian Anti-Slavery gathering which drunkards and gamblers were welcomed & women and honest truthful Women rejected and insulted." (Letter to Elizabeth Hussey Whittier, Aug. 16, 1841; photo Mass. Hist. Soc.)
Fatima Gazieva born Kazakhstan December 14, 1950. Chechen peacemaker. Co-founded Echo of War (Ekho Voiny); joined life chain protest against war, 1995; participated in Russian and Chechen women's Peace March from Moscow to Grozny, 1995; abducted and released the next day, 2004. Nobel Peace Prize nominee, 2005.
"This is the will of God. He has granted me life so that I can help the least privileged victims of war. I have no right to betray them. They are waiting for me." (Quote and photo World Peoples Blog)
Leymah Gbowee born Liberia February 1, 1972. Nonviolent activist; worked to end Liberian civil war through nonviolent means, 2003. Shared Nobel Peace Prize with Tawakkol Karman & Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 2011.
"Where women used to be the silent victims and objects of men's powers, women are throwing down the walls of repressive traditions with the invincible power of non-violence. Women are using their broken bodies from hunger, poverty, desperation and destitution to stare down the barrel of the gun." (Nobel address, Dec. 10, 2011; photo http://bit.ly/pxNnaa)
Nicola Geiger born Germany August 3, 1920 (d. 2006). Buddhist Peace activist; joined White Rose resistance to Hitler; lost husband and 2 babies in World War II; raped at end of war Berlin 1945; turned to life of peace: aided postwar refugees; helped Korean survivors of Japanese occupation, and Hiroshima victims; opposed Marcos regime in Philippines; sat-in segregated restaurants; 8 years at Resource Center for Nonviolence Santa Cruz; opposed Vietnam War; active in Women Strike for Peace and WILPF.
"The work I did was because I wanted to be in this world. I wanted to live in that light which takes away the occasion of all wars cruelty and control." (Gabriel Constans, "Finding Peace in Hell", Angie’s Diary; quote and photo angiesdiary.com)
Edna Fischel Gellhorn born St. Louis, MO December 18, 1878 (d. 1970). President League of Women Voters; promoted world unity through League of Nations and UN; leader in suffrage and racial integration.
"I'm glad I was born in a time of stress. And I have infinite faith in the future." (1953, Dict. Mo Bio 332; photo Bryn Mawr lib.)
Martha Gellhorn born St. Louis, MO November 8, 1908 (d. 1998). Pacifist author; war correspondent; opposed war in Vietnam, Contra War, nuclear weapons.
"War is a malignant disease, an idiocy, a prison, and the pain it causes is beyond telling or imagining." (Face of War, 1959, p. 2; photo MarthaGelhorn.org)
Inge Genefke born Copenhagen, Denmark July 6, 1938. Danish doctor; rehabilitater of torture victims; won Right Livelihood Award, 1988.
"The most essential purpose of torture is not to gather information and evidence, no, the most essential purpose is the most evil in the world: to break down a personality, to destroy an identity, you could call it: to kill a soul. And to use it is worse than murder." (Right Livelihood Award acceptance speech, Dec. 9, 1988; photo Right Livelihood)
Rosa Genoni born Tirano, Italy June 18, 1867 (d. 1954). Famous Italian style designer took unusual Italian stand against war; WILPF delegate to heads of state to end World War 1915; got Pope's support.
"Alas! In Italy they [the women] do not think only of peace. Everybody desires it perhaps, but first of all they think of the national interest." (June 5, 1915, Women at the Hague, p. 221; photo fashionbeyondfashion.wordpress.com)
Lillian Meller Genser born Detroit, MI January 31, 1920 (d. 2006). Pioneering peace educator. Director, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Wayne State University, 1970-90. Began Visions of Peace children’s art show, 1986. Introduced companion to pledge of allegiance.
“I pledge allegiance to the world
To care for earth and sea and air
To cherish every living thing
With peace and justice everywhere.”
(World Pledge Project, Wayne State Univ.; 1988 photo ebay)
Susan George (née Akers) born Akron, OH June 29, 1934. Political scientist; head of Transnational Institute; lifelong antiwar activist, opposing French war in Algeria, Vietnam War; early concern with disarmament; major focus on world poverty; active with Greenpeace.
“What do the rich owe to the poor, the fortunate to the less fortunate, the educated to the uneducated; the healthy to the ill? Do these obligations, if there are any, apply only to the people in our own societies, to our own countries, or to everyone, everywhere? The kind of globalisation we choose—and I assure you that it is a choice, not a fate to which we must submit—will determine whether there is peace or war. In my mind, there can be no peace without justice.” (“globalization and Peace”, March 10, 2008)
“[S]ome people in the alter-globalisation movement reproach me for my positions on non-violence. . . hundreds of people over months to organize successful demonstrations and political activities. One of my books. . . Another World is Possible If. . . One of the 'ifs' concerns maintaining a strict policy of non-violence.” (TNI “Japanese Welcome”, June 28, 2008; photo thii.org)
Zelma Watson George born Hearn, TX December 8, 1903 (d. 1994). Musician; sociologist; African-American delegate to UN General Assembly, 1961; attendee African Ban The Bomb conference, Ghana, 1963; recipient of Dag Hammarskjöld Award, 1961; recipient of Dahlberg Peace Award, 1963; early advocate of UN.
"And the fourth world, now, the poorest of the underdeveloped nations, it's the fifth world, the women of the world." (Jim Standifer interview, Nov. 23; photo Black Professionals Assn.)
Kristalina Georgieva born Sofia, Bulgaria August 13, 1953. Bulgarian environmental economist; official nominee for UN Secretary General 2016; Vice-President World Bank; European of Year 2010 for work as European Humanitarian Commissioner in relief of Haiti earthquake 2010, and Pakistan floods 2010.
“What we are seeing is a much more fragile world. In which natural disaster risk and conflict are increasingly overlaid. And where the big trends of climate change and population growth are compounded by extremism. . . Humanitarians are the first ones to have to pick up the pieces when things go wrong. . . So humanitarians are rather like 'mine canaries'—they are the first to feel the heat when things go wrong.” (European Commission, May 27, 2014; photo yaLibnan)
Lindsey German born Ewell, Surrey, London, England May 13, 1951. British peace leader; socialist; opposed wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Gaza; ran twice for mayor of London, 2004, 2008. Co-founded and served as convenor of Stop the War Coalition, 2001; sponsored the largest British public demonstration in history under the slogan "No war on Iraq—Freedom for Palestine," 2003.
"The conflict in Syria and Iraq has been much worsened by Western intervention, both overt and covert. . . The same is true in Afghanistan and Libya. We are seeing now just what a terrible price is being paid by the people of the region. NATO is promising us more of the same, this time in the heart of Europe." (Morning Star, August 30, 2014; photo Wikipedia)
Masha Gessen born Moscow January 13, 1967. Russian-American activist and journalist; chronicler of nonviolent protests. (photo: openlettersmonthly.com)
Women in Peace
is dedicated to highlighting the achievements of extraordinary, peacemaking women from around the world.
