How many of these women can YOU name? Mother pens a book on history’s ‘trailblazers and groundbreakers’ because she feared her daughter didn’t have enough female role models
- The book includes women from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities
- Author Yvonne Lin says little girls are ‘mostly shown princesses and mermaids’
- Features 26 trailblazing but mostly low profile women throughout time
A woman who was dismayed by the lack of female role models for her daughter has penned a book celebrating history’s unsung heroines.
New York-based designer Yvonne Lin wrote The A-Z of Wonder Women to teach her four-year-old daughter Roni about female ‘trailblazers and groundbreakers’, and landed a publishing deal in the process.
Speaking about her book, she told MailOnline: ‘Boys and girls need heroes as they grow up. There are thousands upon thousands books and movies about famous athletes, scientists, artists or explorers—almost all men.
‘Whatever a little boy wants to pursue, he sees paths. Even though women have flown to the Moon, won the highest prizes in science and maths, led countries, armies and even pirate fleets, little girls are mostly shown princesses and mermaids.
‘Sure, it’s not necessarily the worst career choice, but there are not enough castles and beaches for 3.5 billion women. In this book, both girls and boys will see 26 trailblazing wonder women from across the globe and throughout time.’
Here, Yvonne introduces six of history’s most pioneering women – but how many can you name? Scroll down for the answers…
1.
To persuade politicians and the public, this British woman (1829-1910) pioneered the use of wedge charts to show the impact of filth and neglect – but was ‘pink-washed’ by history
This woman was ‘pink-washed by history,’ Yvonne writes. ‘When The Times described her first major achievements during the Crimean War, they called her a “ministering angel” whose “slender form glided along corridors with a lamp”.
‘This woman was not a slender ministering angel; she was a gifted and unstoppable researcher, statistician and organizer.
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‘At Scutari military hospital, she found sick and wounded soldiers living in inhumane conditions surrounded by fleas and rats — and a complete lack of medical records.
‘Unlike almost all people of her time, this woman had an excellent knowledge of statistics. She collected and organized records to learn, unexpectedly, that more soldiers died from preventable diseases than from battle injuries.
‘To persuade politicians and the public, she pioneered the use of wedge charts to show the impact of filth and neglect.
‘When a new hospital was built and run the way she prescribed, the mortality rate plummeted by a factor of ten, setting modern medical standards.’
2.
This 16th-century ‘pirate queen’ (1530-1603) kept going in an action packed pirate-y manner until she died at the ripe old age of 73 when most people died before 40
‘How can you not include an honest-to-god sixteenth century Irish pirate queen?’ writes Yvonne.
‘By the tender age of 26, this woman had buried her first husband, avenged her lover, kicked out her second husband, managed to keep the second husband as an ally, built a fleet and a land army, fought and robbed both the Irish and English, and beat off an Algerian ship attack (the day after giving birth) with a pistol in each hand.
‘She kept going in an action packed pirate-y manner until she died at the ripe old age of 73 when most people died before 40.’
3.
She was arrested her in 1943 but this woman (1910-2008) kept silent and she was sentenced to death but managed to escape thanks to a cunning plan from her close friends
‘During WWII, this 4ft 11in woman carried Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto in a sack over her back.
‘She also used trunks, suitcases, wheelbarrows and ambulance stretchers to save about 2,500 Jewish children — more than any other individual.
‘The Nazis arrested her in 1943; they fractured her legs and feet trying to make her speak. This woman kept silent; she was sentenced to death.
‘Miraculously, her friends bribed the executioner and snatched her out of Gestapo hands. After the war, she lived, worked, took care of her children and never bothered to tell her story.
‘In 1999, a class of American high school students in Kansas discovered her actions during a history project and told her story.’
4.
This woman (1870-1952) devised genius methods to teach children so that they could join society. She took many of the same techniques to improve education for all kids
‘This woman turned the impossible into the obvious,’ says Yvonne. ‘First, she became one of the first female doctors in Italy.
‘Then she spent two years carefully studying mentally disabled children — who were typically shuttered away. She developed methods to teach them so that they could join society.
‘She took many of the same techniques to improve education for all kids. She founded her own school, Casa Dei Bambini.
‘There, she took away the centuries old unquestioned educational norms of forced drills and repetition. Instead, she gave the kids exploration, guided choice, confidence and joy, and for the first time ever, children-sized furniture and objects.
‘The children thrived and their parents took notice. A hundred years later, there are around 700 Montessori schools in the United Kingdom alone and more than 7,000 worldwide.’
5.
This woman, who was born in 1962, famously dressed in pink and held a one-woman protest march walking with the sign ‘Give Women Their Rights’
‘This trailblazer fights for women’s rights where women need it most,’ says Yvonne. ‘In Saudi Arabia it is illegal for women to wear anything other than a black abaya.
‘She dressed in pink and held a one-woman protest march walking with the sign “Give Women Their Rights”; she was arrested.
‘Until 2018, it was illegal for Saudi women to drive. In 2008, she drove and posted the video on YouTube; she was arrested.
‘It is illegal for a woman to cross a border without her male guardian’s consent. She tried to cross the border three times; she was banned from travel.
‘It is illegal to assist a battered woman without her husband’s consent. She and her friend helped a battered woman escape; they spent ten months in prison.
‘However, it is legal for a 50-year-old man to marry an eight-year-old girl. This woman campaigned against the marriage and succeeded; the marriage was terminated.’
6.
This woman’s books gave word to women from the most remote and undeveloped parts of China, to migrant workers, and to mothers who were forced to abandon their daughters
‘I chose this woman because she gave a voice to silent women. Life in Communist China was harsh and oppressive for men and women alike but poor rural women suffered the most and spoke the least.
‘This woman, a radio broadcaster at the time, interviewed these women and China heard their voices and stories for the first time.
‘Her books gave word to women from the most remote and undeveloped parts of China, to migrant women workers, and to mothers who were forced to abandon their daughters.
‘There is a personal connection too, if my grandmothers hadn’t managed to escape from China in 1949, she could have met them on her quest.’
The A-Z of Wonder Women by Yvonne Lin, Wren & Rook, £7.99
The answers
Here are the names of the women in full:
1. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
2. Grace O’ Malley (1530-1603)
3. Irena Sendler, née Krzyzanowski (1910-2008)
4. Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
5. Wajeda Al-Huwaider (1962-)
6. Xuē Xīnrán (1958-)
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