Tag: Historical Women Changemakers
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Gwendolyn Lizarraga: Madam Liz Took a Handsaw to the Swamp
Gwendolyn Lizarraga (1901-1975) was a groundbreaking organizer and women’s rights pioneer in Belize. She fought for women’s wages, land ownership, and education by directly challenging systemic barriers. As the first woman elected to Belize’s legislature, she established crucial institutions impacting women’s political power and access to education, leaving a lasting legacy.
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Zaha Hadid: The Woman Who Bent Buildings (And Refused to Bend Herself)
Bad-Ass Women in History — Zaha Hadid | 1950 – 2016 Architect • Visionary • Queen of Curves She bent steel, concrete, and expectation. Zaha Hadid designed buildings that looked like the future had finally gotten bored with straight lines. Critics doubted her. Engineers sweated. Cities changed shape. Then she became the first woman to…
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Jadwiga of Poland: They Crowned a Little Girl “King”
Jadwiga of Poland, crowned king at age ten, was a powerful and capable ruler who reshaped Europe despite being forced into marriage for political gain. She excelled in diplomacy and military leadership, contributed to the founding of Jagiellonian University, and was later canonized a saint, embodying both strength and sacrifice.
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Dame Doris Johnson: They Wouldn’t Let Her Speak in Parliament, So She Moved Parliament
Dame Doris Johnson (1921-1983) was a pioneering Bahamian educator and suffragist who fought for women’s rights and political power in the Bahamas. She orchestrated a pivotal speech in 1959 by relocating Parliament, ultimately leading to women’s suffrage. Despite her significant contributions, it took until 2023 for her to be named a National Hero.
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Eva Perón: The Saint, the Demagogue, and the Body That Wouldn’t Stay Buried
Bad-Ass Women in History — Eva Perón | 1911 – 1952 First Lady • Labor Advocate • Political Icon She made power look down and notice the poor. Eva Perón turned fame into a weapon for Argentina’s workers, women, and forgotten poor. Loved like a saint and hated like a threat, she became impossible to…
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The Most Dangerous Thing You Can Hand a Woman Is a Pen
Bad-Ass Women in History — Tsitsi Dangraemba, c. 1959 – Present Writer • Filmmaker • Truth-Teller She wrote the wounds colonialism wanted buried. Tsitsi Dangarembga gave Zimbabwean women a voice the world could not ignore. Her books exposed race, gender, power, and survival with surgical precision. Then she kept speaking, even when silence would have…
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Ana Betancourt: The Woman They Tied to a Tree
Ana Betancourt asked an army of revolutionaries to free their women too. They said “maybe later.” She didn’t live to see it. Here’s why that still matters.