June 15
/Women peacemakers born today
1844 Charlotte Despard born Ripple, Kent, England (d. 1939). English pacifist and feminist; theosophist. Friend of Gandhi; practitioner of nonviolence. Arrested for suffrage activities, 1906-07.
1913 Hania Ris born Lodz, Poland (d. 1998). Pediatrics professor, University of Wisconsin; crusader for birth control. Pacifist member of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
1939 Carmen Argibay born Buenos Aires, Argentina. Argentine justice; first woman on Supreme Court, 2005. Served on International tribunals on Japanese sexual crimes, 2000; Yugoslav war crimes, 2001-05.
1946 Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega born Valencia, Spain. Doctor of law; first woman vice-president of Spain, 2004. Led Socialist government to withdraw from Iraq, 2004; announced plan for Palestinian peace, 2006. Set up courts for violence against women, 2004.
1953 Elizabeth Gwaunza born Zimbabwe. Judge of International Criminal Court (ICTY). Sentenced Croatian Gen. Ante Gotovina to 24 years in prison.
Women's peacemaking on this day
1917 Emma Goldman arrested for draft resistance New York City. "We oppose conscription because we are internationalists, anti-militarists. . . "
1955 First Civil Defense Alert, New York City. Dorothy Day and Orlie Pell arrested for refusing to go to bomb shelter.
1993 Global Campaign for Women's Human Rights peaked at UN Human Rights Conference Vienna.