March 8th is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. This slide show features women who fought for the right to vote in their respective countries.
She was the most prominent member of the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand and the country's most famous suffragist. New Zealand became the first nation in the world in which all women had the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
A militant champion of woman suffrage whose 40-year campaign achieved complete success in the year of her death, when British women obtained full equality in the voting franchise (1928). Her daughter Christabel Harriette Pankhurst (left) also was prominent in the woman suffrage movement.
She founded the pioneer girls' school Liceo Peruano (1883), the leading feminist publication Liceo Fanning (1894-1914), and is regarded as a pioneer in women's education in Peru.
A British suffragette and leader of the militant Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). She died after being hit by King George V’s horse Anmer at the 1913 Epsom Derby when she purposefully walked onto the track during the race to demonstrate for the call “Votes for Women!”
The first female member of the Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance), a secret society and underground resitence movement. Tang has been cited as one of the "best-known women activist in modern Chinese history."
Writer and political activist in Southern Rhodesia who was the first female parliamentarian in the British overseas empire.
A Peruvian journalist and feminist at the turn of the 20th century. The most incredible thing about Maria was her dedication to achieving full equality for women - not only the vote, which was the primary feminist topic of the time.
An Irish-Indian educationist, suffragist established All India Women's Conference (AIWC) in 1927.
Political activist, feminist, poet, and the first Indian woman to be president of the Indian National Congress and to be appointed an Indian state governor. She was sometimes called “the Nightingale of India.”
A Mexican feminist and a writer. She was an early supporter of many radical feminist issues, primarily sex education in schools, women's suffrage, and divorce. She was one of the first feminists to state that Catholicism in Mexico was thwarting feminist efforts, and was the first woman to run for elected office in Mexico.
An Ecuadorian physician, poet, and activist. Matilde Hidalgo was the first woman to exercise the right to vote in Ecuador (and Latin America), and also the first to receive a Doctorate in Medicine. Hidalgo fought for the recognition of women's rights and is now known as one of the most important women in Ecuadorian history.
A Japanese feminist, politician, and a leader of the women's suffrage movement. She was a key supporter of women's suffrage in Japan, and her activism was partially responsible for the extension of the franchise to women in 1945.
Lutz became a leading figure in both the Pan American feminist movement and human rights movement. She was instrumental in gaining women's suffrage in Brazil and represented her country at the United Nations Conference.
An Egyptian journalist and writer, known as one of the first journalists to demand equality for men and women. Despite her distinction as the first woman lawyer in Egypt, the barriers to practicing law as a woman, led her to pursue a writing career.
Serving three terms as prime minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) she became the world's first prime minister. Bandaranaike carried out programs of socialist economic policies, neutrality in international relations, and the active encouragement of the Buddhist religion and of the Sinhalese language and culture.
The only daughter of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi was destined for politics. First appointed prime minister in 1966, she garnered widespread public support for agricultural improvements that led to India’s self-sufficiency in food grain production as well as for her success in the Pakistan war, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated outside her home by two of her trusted bodyguards.
Bengali politician and leader of the Awami League political party, who twice served as prime minister of Bangladesh. Hasina became a prominent and outspoken advocate of democracy, which resulted in her placement under house arrest on numerous occasions. She initiated measures to secure basic human rights for all citizens.
At 35, she was one of the youngest chief executives in the world, and the first woman to serve as prime minister in an Islamic country. Benazir Bhutto left a deeply polarizing legacy. Her career has been celebrated as a triumph for women in the Muslim world and for the global fight against Islamic extremism. At the same time, she has been accused of corruption and bad governance. Her efforts and struggle to champion democracy remain a lasting legacy that is deeply respected among her rivals. She was killed by a suicide bomber in December, 2007.
From the Huffington Post "21 Printable Coloring Sheets that Celebrate Girl Power." Click on photo for more pictures.
Women’s History Month began in 1981 when the President proclaimed the week beginning March 7, 1982, as “Women’s History Week.” "Then in 1987, Congress designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month" after the petitioning of the National Women's History Project (now called the National Women's History Alliance). Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month”.
In 2019 the SLRC (Student Learning Resource Center) hosted a Human Library event where women with a variety of experiences served as the “books”. Students were able to move around the room and pick a “book” to learn more about and ask questions.
In 2018 the SLRC partnered with student life to host a series of panels on "Fierce Women in History, Fiction, and Leadership."
The Fierce Women in History was led by Professor Kevin Tucker and included the University Park Historical Society.
The Fierce Women in Literature featured Professors Kristie Musgrove (Boston) & Amy Hiersh and Digital Resource Professional, Elaine Patton.
The Fierce Women in Leadership panel featured Julie Gruber, Dean of Student Services, Martha Donnelly, math professor, Deshonta Holmes, Chief Strategist, and Dr. Mosadi Porter, Dean of Admissions and Outreach. It was moderated by Cassandre Khatri, political science professor.
In 2017 the SLRC displayed at the poster (below) at the front of the library for Women's History Month. We viewed and discussed Reshma Saujani’s TED Talk “Teach girls bravery, not perfection” with Dr. Veronique Tran, Dean of Math and Science as the moderator. Also, the library participated in the Women’s Resource Fair on campus as well.
In 2016 the SLRC again hosted an essay content but expanded the mediums to also include video and audio submissions. The thee was Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government. (See previous years to look at other essay contests.)
In 2015, we again hosted an essay contest with the theme of Weaving the Story of Women's Lives, which emphasized writing women back into history, as so many of women's extraordinary triumphs and successes go unrecognized. We also participated in the campus Women’s Fair to promote library resources that especially focused on information for and about women. During the fair we played a Twitter-style trivia quiz with students featuring women in history.
In 2014, the SLRC hosted an essay contest celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment honoring the extraordinary and often unrecognized determination and tenacity of women.
Daily emails were also created by the librarians and sent to all University Park employees highlighting women in Arts & Humanities, Business, Education & Government, and STEM.
Lone Star College-University Park • Student Learning Resource Center
20515 SH 249 • Building 12, 8th Floor • Houston, TX 77070
This work by Lone Star College-University Park Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 