November - December 2008 | Naughty & Nice


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Archive for the ‘Inspiring Women’ Category

Inspiring Women: Jane Addams

inspiring-women-jane-addams

Those unfamiliar with American history might not recognize the name “Jane Addams,” but there’s no doubt she was an inspiration to many women.
Born in Cedarville, IL, Jane was the eighth of nine children (though three of her older siblings died in infancy), in a loving and prosperous family. Her mother, Sarah Weber Addams, died […]

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Inspiring Women: Flora Sandes

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Today marks the 90th anniversary of the end of World War One. Although a time when women didn’t even have the right to vote, let alone were welcome in the military,  80,000 women served in the British forces as non-combatants. One Englishwoman however, was an exceptional case. Flora Sandes, originally a nurse, became a soldier […]

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Inspiring Women: Women Who Vote

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It was only in 1918 that women over the age of 30 were granted the right to vote in Britain. It took another 10 years of fighting by the Suffragettes for women to finally gain the same voting rights as men in Britain in 1928. American women were given this right in 1920. It really […]

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Inspiring Women: Esther Rantzen CBE

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Esther Rantzen has been a broadcaster for more than forty years but it is her work for charity that I find inspiring.
She was first known in Britain for reporting on Braden’s Week and then for producing and hosting a programme called, That’s Life. This drew a viewing public of 18 million and whilst it had […]

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Inspiring Women: Rose Elizabeth Bird

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As we come into the final weeks before a national election, I wanted to write about an inspiring woman who is not currently seen as controversial; however she was certainly thought as much in her own time. She was the first, and as yet, only woman to be named Chief Justice of the California […]

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Inspiring Women: Frida Kahlo

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We’re halfway through Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States, which runs from September 15th- October 15th. Rather than ranting about how bizarre that timing is, I’ll mention that the start date is on the eve of an important date in Mexican history: the 16th of September is Mexico’s Independence Day (if you thought that’s […]

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Inspirational Women: Marie Curie

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The first woman awarded a Nobel Prize was Marie Curie. In 1903 it was the Nobel Prize for Physics, along with her husband Pierre Curie and Colleague Antoine Henri Becquerel, for their work in Radiation….and then later, awarded in 1911 for her works in Chemistry “in recognition of her services to the advancement of […]

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Inspiring Women: Eglantyne Jebb

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Eglantyne Jebb was born in 1876 and was one of six children. Forty-three years later she and her sister Dorothy, co-founded the Save the Children charity. In between these times she went to study at Oxford, which was quite unusual for women in 1895. She not only enjoyed political science lectures from A.L. Smith, but […]

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Inspiring Women: Nellie Bly

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When I volunteered to write this week’s Inspiring Women, I’d just returned from San Francisco, and was eager to write about a famous female writer. “Who should I talk about?” I asked myself. “Madeleine L’Engle? Louisa May Alcott? One of the Bronte sisters?” Because those are the names I grew up with, those are the […]

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Inspiring Women: Annie Lennox

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“Sing my sister sing
Let your voice be heard
What won’t kill you will make you stronger
Sing my sister sing*”
For years, Annie Lennox has rocked the masses with her strong, sultry, soulful voice and unique style. From the days when she was one half of the hugely successful Eurythmics to her award-winning solo work, the Scottish songbird […]

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Inspiring Women: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

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Whenever I am looking at inspirational quotes, it seems that many of them come from Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman named by Time Magazine as the most influential First Lady of the United States. Born in New York City on October 11, 1884, she was a shy child who was orphaned by the age […]

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Inspiring Women: Aurelia Kaitesi

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During the month of May, 2008, South Africa was ravaged by a spate of xenophobic attacks that spread through its land like wildfire. As streams of foreigners crossed the borders from neighbouring countries, they sought refuge in the townships and informal settlements. Sadly, many locals felt threatened by the influx of foreigners, accusing them of […]

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Inspiring Women: Navanethem Pillay

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Navanethem Pillay has recently made the news, again, after being appointed the United Nation’s new High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Prior to this challenging, and worthwhile, appointment, Ms Pillay was already making strides in human rights and garnering attention (sometimes unwanted) for her causes. She is an exceptionally courageous, determined and up-standing woman and someone […]

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Inspiring Women: Patti Patton-Bader

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If you asked her, Patti Patton-Bader would tell you she’s an ordinary mother who loves her sons. She’d be telling the truth, but she’d be downplaying her achievements a lot.
WHy?
Because Patti Patton-Bader channeled all that love into the founding of Soldiers’ Angels, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that gives support to military personnel serving in harm’s […]

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Inspiring Women: Queen Elizabeth I

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At 25 she was crowned Queen of England. Her reign brought the likes of Shakespeare and the explorer, Sir Francis Drake. She spoke six languages. She defeated the Spanish Armada. She forsook marriage to her true love in order to be free to rule her country as she sought fit. For 45 years she ruled […]

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Inspiring Women: Diane Abbott

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I first came across Diane Abbott through watching Andrew Neil’s, “This Week” show on late night BBC television. Diane Abbott, labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington appears with Michael Portillo, former conservative MP. Alongside Andrew Neil, they put the world to rights, tackling serious issues, often with a dry humour, as they recognise […]

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