Alice Thacher Post born June 8, 1853 (d. 1947). Editor and publisher of Chicago anti-imperialist paper The Public; Vice-president of Anti-Imperialist League. Opposed Spanish-American War and war in Philippines.
"Imperialism attacks the most vital Christian principle—namely the propagation of good by example. What has imperialism done in the Philippines? It has sought to propagate good by force." (Oct. 30, 1908, The Public, vol. XI, p. 738)
Amy Kirby Post born Jericho, Long Island, NY December 20, 1802 (d. 1889). Quaker nonresistant; feminist; abolitionist. Signed Seneca Falls Declaration, 1848. Conductor on Underground Railroad, Rochester, NY.
“The abolitionists surely have a work to do now, in inflewence-ing [sic] and directing this bloody struggle, that it may end in Emancipation, as the only basis of a true and permanent peace.” (personal correspondence, June 18, 1861; photo examiner.com)
Eliane Lima dos Santos Potiguara born Rio de Janiero, Brazil September 29, 1950. Brazilian author and poet; indigenous rights leader. Created first indigenous organization Grumin, 1982; founded first native newspaper; organized international indigenous conferences. Received Baha'i Global Citizenship Award, 1996; Nobel Peace Prize nominee, 2005.
"God doesn't like religious intolerance which causes wars and conflicts. God wants peace. I want peace. I belong to peace, love, the universe. I am God in action. I have all the religions of the world in my heart and I love all the religions." (World People's Blog; photo Blog das Ruas—por luri Rubim)
Eugénie Potonié-Pierre born L'Orient, Brittany, France November 5, 1844 (d. 1898). French feminist; radical pacifist; socialist. Journalist and editor. Founded International Union of Women for Peace, 1895; Coined the term “feminism”, 1896. Connected war to social misery and oppression of women.
“[T]he war system necessarily leads to an inferior position for women.” (statement of International Union, 1895, in Sandi Cooper, Peace & Change, 2011; portrait C. Moses, French Feminism, p. 225)
Georgia Montgomery Davis Powers born Springfield, KY October 19, 1923. First female African-American Senator (Kentucky), 1967; leader of Martin Luther King, Jr. movement, Louisville.
"I saw a need for someone to speak out for women, for African-Americans, for children." ("Film Project", Lexington Herald-Leader, Dec. 7, 2008: photo 1968 Dippidy)
Stefanie Powers (née Stefania Federkiewicz) born Hollywood, CA November 12, 1943. Antiwar actress; international advocate for wildlife conservation. (photo official website)
Dadi Prakashmani born Hyderabad, India January 1, 1924 (d. 2007). Spiritual leader of Brahma Kumaris. Awarded UN Peace Medal for Million Minutes for Peace, 1984.
"Only a powerful soul can offer Love." (quote and photo: Brahma Kumari website http://bit.ly/wd5wZ4)
Helen Prejean born Baton Rouge, LA April 21, 1939. Catholic nun who actively opposed war and capital punishment; Pacem in Terris award 1993; signed call for removal of President Bush for Iraq War and torture.
"I try to live my life with as much integrity as I can muster, which means doing what love demands. . . Enlightened self-interest? You better believe it. Because when we love, truly love, we become very alive; we grow, and if that's not ‘self-interest,’ I don't know what is." (Oct. 19, 2006; photo civilliberty.about.com)
Clelia Premoli born Milan, Italy August 6, 1899 (d. 1974). Italian labor leader; individualist anarchist; age 17 arrested for antiwar protest Milan; encouraged draft resisters; arrested 1920; opposed Mussolini 1924; exiled to France, Uruguay, deported, and imprisoned 2 under Mussolini, then German concentration camp.
“I had gone to the cathedral square to make the anti-war demonstration. I spoke of the human and the good side of men and at the end I cried Down with the war, the war is cursed by mankind. Imagine, the judges and the police were amazed, the crowd shouted with joy, I got lots of applause.” (Clelia Premoli "I made the tribunal pale," CretaStorie; photo bfscollezionedigitale)
Evadne Price (née Eva Grace Price) born Merewether, NSW, Australia August 28, 1888 (d. 1985). Australian British writer. Under pseudonym of Helen Zenne Smith, published novel Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War antiwar novel based on memoir of Winifred Young, ambulance driver in WWI, 1930.
“Her soul died that night under a radiant silver moon in the spring of 1918 on the side of a blood-spattered trench. Around her lay the mangled dead and the dying. Her body was untouched, her heart beat calmly, the blood coursed as ever through her veins. But looking deep into those emotionless eyes one wondered if they had suffered much before the soul had left them. Her face held an expression of resignation, as though she had ceased to hope that the end might come.” (Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War; photo Wikipedia)
Overview
Diana, Princess of Wales born Sandringham, England July 1, 1961 (d. August 31, 1997). Member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour made her an international icon, and earned her enduring popularity. Her patronages were initially centred on children and the elderly, but she later became known for her involvement in two particular campaigns: one involved the social attitudes towards and the acceptance of AIDS patients, and the other for the removal of landmines, promoted through the International Red Cross.
Quotations
"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you."
Kimberly Prost born Canada June 4, 1958. UN Security Council Ombudsman on sanctions 2010, Judge Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal 2006-2010.
"The calculated destruction of the Bosnian Muslims of Srebrenica in July 1995 stands out as one of the worst crimes committed in Europe after the Second World War. The extermination of the Bosnian Muslim males from Srebrenica, accompanied by the forcible transfer and persecution of the Bosnian Muslim populations from the Srebrenica and Žepa enclaves all together encompass the gravest of crimes under international criminal law. . . The genocide, extermination, murder and persecution were executed with systematic and cold brutality." (2011 ICTY judgment Popovič et al, para. 2148-9; (photo ICTY)
Giovanna Providenti born Messina, Sicily June 9, 1965. Italian feminist scholar; author of Nonviolent Women; active in nonviolent Association of Mediterranean Women (AWMR).
“From the sense of responsibility towards their own and others' lives, by making full use of their own authoritativeness, women. . . have dared to believe that they have very, very much power to eliminate war from history. And they tried to act this power. . . the story seems to continue in another direction.” (“Nonviolent Women in the Time of War”, April 7, 2005; photo arachne editrice)
Marie-Louise Puech Milhau born Castres, France July 5, 1876 (d. 1966). French feminist; pacifist. Specialist in German studies. Editor of La Paix par le Droit, journal of Association pour la Paix par le Droit (“The Association of Peace Through Law”), during WWI. General secretary (and later president) of Union Féminine Française pour la Société des Nations, 1920. Attended Carrie Chapman Catt’s Fifth Conference on Cause & Cure of War, 1930. Vice-president of Association of Peace Through Law, 1947. Helped rescue Jewish refugees in France during WWII. (photo tampow3945.com)
Sarah Pugh born Washington DC October 6, 1800 (d. 1884). Quaker; educator; nonviolent suffragist; abolitionist; delegate to world's first antislavery convention, London, 1840; co-founder Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, 1833; responded to mob burning their hall with nonviolent linking arms with black sisters, 1838.
"Men should be judged by actions, not opinions." (Memoir 11; photo http://bit.ly/AdYIHL)
St. Pulcheria born Constantinople January 19, 399 (d. 453). Empress of Eastern Roman Empire; influenced peace with Attila the Hun, 450. (icon http://bit.ly/wEJilg)
Vesna Pusić born Zagreb, Yugoslavia April 25, 1956. Croatian sociology professor; official candidate for UN Secretary General 2016; the only feminist; endorsed by nonviolent party; Foreign Minister 2006-11; promoted European unity, chaired negotiations for Croatian membership in EU 2005-8; co-founder Erasmus Guild 1993 promoting postwar cultural democracy.
“The United Nations is a flawed institution but also an essential one. . . The next Secretary-General should focus on maintaining and enhancing the quality of the United Nations diplomacy. . . I would like to see some women on this list.” (Campaign to elect a woman Secretary-General; Pusić; vision statement; photo alchetron)
Women in Peace
is dedicated to highlighting the achievements of extraordinary, peacemaking women from around the world.
