The PARITY DEMOCRAT
A monthly record of developments which enhance democracy through women's empowerment
Vol 9 No 5 £ 5 US$ 10 ISSN 1367-6946 May 2005
Introduction
In this 101st monthly issue of The Parity Democrat, I highlight the May 2005 dates from my four anniversary lists: 10 of the Democracies, 12 of Women's Empowerment, 15 Women's Centenaries, and 12 new Birthdays of Distinguished Living Women. My attachment of the month, also downloadable from the Shequality website, is the paper I prepared for meetings of European ministers in Luxembourg and Brussels in March.
These were my only visits abroad in March, but it was as eventful a month as ever. On 1 March I attended the Palestine Meeting in London, now with the hope that the people, for whose education I raised funds during the 1959/60 World Refugee Year, would soon take responsibility for their destiny, rather than blame others for their fate. That evening I visited the Olympia Fine Arts, Design & Antiques Fair, perhaps the most comprehensive art exhibition held (three times a year) in London, and the occasion for which I prepare my annual paper on women artists, in 2005, attached to the April Parity Democrat and downloadable free, without password, from my Shequality site.
On 2 March I went to Birmingham for the British Travel Trade Fair, now with a paper on British Women & History in 2005, and again attached to the April issue of this newsletter. It is the best opportunity in Britain to promote, refine and extend the first and third lists of anniversaries I tabulate every month.
On 3 March I visited the European Parliament Office to hear a report the UN Commission on the Status of Women, for which again I had prepared a paper in January, downloadable from my website. Then I went to the Royal Opera House for the Hungarian wine-tasting, drawing the attention of my hosts to the opportunity for bringing out commemorative Tokays and other wines for the 50th anniversary in 2006 of the Hungarian uprising against soviet communism - I did my first voluntary work in the International Red Cross action on behalf of their refugees in 1956/1957 - and for the 800th anniversary in 2007 of Elizabeth of Hungary and Thuringia, the saint devoted to the sick and poor, and for the 750th anniversary of whose death in 1981 I got the German post office to issue a 50 Pfennig stamp.
On 8 March I visited the Spotlight Canada tourist fair, both to find out how I could get to the Nahanni wilderness park in the Northwest Territories - after the G8 summit in Calgary in June 2002 I saw the midnight sun in Yellowknife - how to have a (Quebec) airport named after the former Governor General Jeanne Sauve, the first in Canada after a distinguished woman, and whether Vancouver, prior to holding the 2010 Winter Paralympics, would institute a World Winter Paralympics Cup, as Manchester will do in May 2005 prior to the summer games.
On 13 & 15 March I attended the London Book Fair, to distribute my paper on women writers in 2005, again downloadable from my website, and to seek out new sources for my anniversary lists, such as the newly published fifth volume of Notable American Women 1975-2000. The Book Fair coincided with the biennial International Food Fair, which I visited on 14 & 16 March, both to look for new vegetarian specialities, and to suggest that commemorative tins (of biscuits) be brought out for major anniversaries, such as the 700th anniversary of the coronation of Robert the Bruce on 25 March 2006.
On 18 March I traveled to Luxembourg for the informal meeting of European defence ministers, and on 22 March to Brussels for the European Council, for which meetings I prepared the attached paper. The defence meeting ended one day earlier than announced, so I spent 19 and 21 March traveling around Luxembourg on the all-inclusive ticket of 4.60 Euros, days which took me to Clervaux, Echternach, the rivers Sure, Ernz Noire and Moselle, and on the last-named to Schengen, where a new esplanade was being prepared for the 20th anniversary of the border-free convention on 15 June 2005.
On 25 March I visited Hampton Court to see the new Suffragettes exhibit, where I learned about the extraordinary Princess Sophia Duleep Singh (1876-1948), the daughter of the last ruling Maharajah of the Punjab, and who in 1934 listed the Advancement of Women as her only interest. I also toured the first Grace & Favour apartment open to the public, in one of which the World Chief Guide Olave Baden-Powell (1889-1977) lived, when I portrayed her on a UN Ceres medal in the early 1970s.
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Published by Raymond LLOYD Honorary Secretary Council for Parity Democracy
19 Mulready House Herrick Street Westminster London SW1P 4JL
Phone & Fax: + 44 20 7834 1309 Mobile: + 44 79 32 79 44 32 Email: shequality @ gmail.com
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The PARITY DEMOCRAT May 2005
ANNIVERSARIES of the DEMOCRACIES
extract from the writer's "2500 Target Dates for Consolidating and Enhancing Democracy 1988-2016"
Anniversaries for Celebration
Day & Date Location Democracy/Grouping Anniversary
Mon 3 May Paris International 15 International Day for Press Freedom by Reporters sans Frontieres
Sat 8 May Europe World 60 Liberation from nazism
Sun 15 May Las Vegas Nevada U S A 100 Foundation as town
Tue 24 May St George Bermuda 500 Discovery by Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermudez in 1509
Sherborne Dorset England 1300 Foundation of abbey in 705
Occasions for Remembrance, Lustration, Reconciliation or Compensation
Sun 8 May Algeria France 60 Massacre of 45 000 persons in Guelma & Saida
Mon 9 May Weimar Germany 200 Friedrich von Schiller 1759-1805 playwright poet died
Tue 18 May Crimea Russia 60 Expulsion of 500 000 Tatars to Central Asia
Wed 18 May Kwangju Korea 25 Army massacre of at least 193 civilians
Tue 31 May Karachi Pakistan 1 16 Shia worshippers massacred in mosque
ANNIVERSARIES of WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
extract from the writer's "1000 Women's Anniversaries 1991-2010"
Thu 5 May Helsinki Finland 90 Helvi Sipila Sec-Gen International Women's Year 1975 born 1915
Tue 24 May England Australia 75 Amy Johnson becomes first woman to fly solo to Australia
Cambridge England 500 Lady Margaret Beaufort grants letters patent to Christ's College
London England 150 YWCA founded by Emma Robarts and Mary Jane Kinnaird
London Britain 150 Society of Women Artists founded in 1855
Brisbane Australia 100 Votes for Women in Queensland
Vienna International 75 Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) founded in 1930
Oxford Britain / World 50 Dorothy Hodgkin discovers vitamin B12 to treat anemia
Occasions for Remembrance, Lustration, Reconciliation or Compensation
Mon 2 May Berlin Russia 60 90 000 women raped by soviet army
Tue 3 May Demmin NE Germany Russia 60 700 women drown themselves before advancing soviet army
Tue 3 May Algiers Islam 10 Edict signed by Abu Abdallah Ahmed, leader of Armed Islamic
Group, to murder all women related to government employees
Thu 19 May Chiquinquira Colombia 5 Elvia Cortez, 53-year-old dairy farmer, murdered by marxist FARC
50- & 100-Year ANNIVERSARIES of DISTINGUISHED WOMEN of HISTORY
extract from the writer's "5500 Women's Centenaries 2004-2055" and "180 Centenaries for 2005"
Births
Born or Died Anniversary Woman of distinction Country Main Activity Reference (see PD 98)
(portrait*)
1 May 1855-12. 9.1942 150 Cecilia Beaux U S A portrait painter MWA* NAW
1 May 1855-21. 4.1924 150 Marie Corelli (Mary Mackay) Britain pianist romantic novelist ONB JU EB*
5 May 1905-15. 4.1979 100 Maria Caniglia Italy soprano DO
9 May 1755-30.11.1835 250 Sophia Streatfield Britain beauty ONB
9 May 1905- 1998 100 Lili Alvarez Spain tennis player author feminist
Deaths
6.12.1897- 3 May 1955 50 Vera Irene Cuningham Britain painter ONB
15. 5.1871- 5 May 1955 50 Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva Russia painter printmaker GDA
25. 7.1826- 8 May 1905 100 Emily Farmer Britain water colour painter ONB
25. 1.1871- 8 May 1955 50 Maud May Wood Park U S A suffragist civic leader CW NAM
2.12.1909-13 May 1955 50 Sybille Schmitz Germany actress GF*
1713-16 May 1755 250 Elizabeth Ashbridge Britain Quaker minister writer ONB
10. 7.1875-18 May 1955 50 Mary McLeod Bethune U S A (black) educator reformer NAM JU
15. 9.1881-21 May 1955 50 Lena Madesin Phillips U S A feminist lawyer CW NAM
19.12.1820-23 May 1905 100 Mary Ashton Rice Livermore U S A temperance & suffrage leader CW NAW
12. 5.1777-30 May 1855 150 Mary Reibey Australia pioneer businesswoman banknote
BIRTHDAYS of DISTINGUISHED LIVING WOMEN
new entries in the writer's "2500 Birthdays for 2005"
DoB Age in 2005 Woman of distinction Country "First", Other Achievements or Position Reference
1 May 1912 93 Anna Pollak Britain soprano DO
8 May 1930 75 Heather Harper N Ireland soprano DO
9 May 1945 50 Vicki Semler U S A co-founder Women's Tribune Centre RL
11 May 1949 56 Ruth Welting U S A soprano DO
12 May 1910 95 Giulietta Simionato Italy mezzo-soprano DO
12 May 1925 80 Patrice Munsel U S A soprano DO
17 May 1906 99 Zinka Milanov Croatia soprano DO
19 May 1975 30 Ning Zhang China Olympic badminton champion ATH*
22 May 1965 40 Theresa Zabell Lucas Spain world sailing champion
26 May 1938 67 Teresa Stratas U S A soprano DO
26 May 1943 62 Erica Terpstra Netherlands swimmer president National Olympic Committee RL
27 May 1938 67 Elizabeth Harwood Britain soprano DO
COUNCIL for PARITY DEMOCRACY
______
19 Mulready House Herrick Street Westminster London England SW1P 4JL
Tel & Fax + 44 20 7834 1309 Mobile + 44 79 32 79 44 32 Email
Honorary Secretary
Raymond Lloyd
Women in the Promotion of Peace and Democracy
European Council Brussels 22-23 March 2005 EU Council Paper 27
Informal Meeting of European Defence Ministers Luxembourg 18 March 2005 @ Raymond Lloyd
For many centuries women have been peacemakers. One of the earliest was Hatshepsut, the female Pharaoh who died in 1468 BC. Another was Queen Saint Isabel of Portugal, who lived from 1271 to 1336. A third was Pocahontas, the Powhatan princess who lived from 1595 to 1617. And a fourth was Bertha von Suttner, the Austrian novelist (1843-1914) who inspired the Nobel Peace Prize, and who herself was the recipient in 1905.
All four women have been portrayed on national banknotes, the two Europeans illustrated here. Indeed Bertha von Suttner is the only distinguished woman of history to be portrayed on the new Eurozone currency, on Austria's 2 euro coins. 2005 is the centenary of her receiving the Prize and, in celebration, Germany will issue a commemorative 10 euro coin. Also in this year, Thursday 28 April is the 90th anniversary of the foundation in The Hague in 1915, during the height of World War I, of the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF). For many centuries too, women have been heroines of independence and freedom. There have been the warrior queens, from Boudicca and Zenobia, to the modern stateswomen such as Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher, who have led their nations through war and against dictatorships. But many other women have a similar claim, including, to mention only those featured on banknotes in Europe, Joan of Arc (1412-1431), Lascarina Bouboulina of Greece (1783-1825), and Emilie Plater of Poland (1806-1831). Recently, women have played a more systematic role in the defence of democracy, and in several countries have become admirals and generals, of whom an initial list is attached (A).
However, there remains a striking gap in the role which has yet to be played by women for women in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction, and this despite Resolution A5-0308/2000 passed by the European Parliament on 29 November 2000. Two friends of mine, Lesley Abdela and Tim Symonds, who in 1980 set up the 300 (Women into the UK Parliament) Group, and who for the past 15 years have been active in training women in eastern Europe and elsewhere in the best practices both of democracy and post-conflict reconstruction, have now set up their own NGO entitled Project Parity - Partnerships for Peace. Attached are their recommendations for future action by European leaders (B).
Finally I attach the 100th monthly issue of The Parity Democrat, for April 2005 (C), which, among its 50 anniversaries of democracy and women's empowerment, includes the WILPF 90th described above, and two 60th anniversaries bearing on the theme of this paper. The first is the liberation of Ravensbrueck on 30 April 1945, the nazi camp some 100 kilometers north of Berlin, where 90 000 of the 130 000 women prisoners were killed or worked to death. The second is the worst war crime ever committed against women and girls, the rape of 2 000 000 Germans between January and May 1945, brought to light from Soviet archives in 2002 by the British historian Antony Beevor in "Berlin: The Downfall 1945". These 60th anniversaries are both the first major commemorations since communist troops finally left Ravensbrueck and east Germany, and the last when survivors may yet be honoured.
Annexes:
A. Women Admirals and Generals around the world 1 p
B. Women in Conflict Prevention, Mediation & Post-Conflict Reconstruction, by Lesley Abdela 2 pp
C. "The Parity Democrat" ISSN 1367-6946: Vol 9 No 4 for April 2005 2 pp
D. 23 March postscript: Questions on democracy & women's advancement asked in Europe 2 pp
A A
COUNCIL for PARITY DEMOCRACY
______
19 Mulready House Herrick Street Westminster London England SW1P 4JL
Tel & Fax + 44 20 7834 1309 Mobile + 44 79 32 79 44 32 Email
Honorary Secretary
Raymond Lloyd
WOMEN MILITARY LEADERS: 52
extract from the writer's "Heads of State & Other Women Leaders throughout the World"
List 74 1300 names 213 (of 254) governments March 2005 @ Raymond Lloyd
A. Admirals: 21
Norway Elisabeth Natvig Rear Admiral Norwegian Navy 1.8.2003-
United States Linda J Bird Rear Admiral US Navy Supply Corps 18.7.2003-
Annette Elise Brown Rear Admiral US Navy South East Region 10.2002-
Nancy Elizabeth Brown Rear Admiral US Navy Command & Control 8.2002-
Donna L Crisp Rear Admiral US Navy Pacific Fleet 2.2002-
Karen Flaherty Rear Admiral US Navy Nurse Corps 1.1991-
Joyce Johnson Rear Admiral USN Public Health Service 200?-
Nancy J Lescavage Rear Admiral Director US Navy Nurse Corps 2000-
Rosanne M LeVitre Rear Admiral Dep Dir US Navy Intelligence 12.2003-
Deborah A Loewer Rear Admiral Vice Commander USN Sealift 7.7.2003-
Kathleen L Martin Rear Admiral Dep Surgeon General US Navy 3.10.2002-
Kathleen K Paige Rear Admiral Dir USN Ballistic Missiles 3.2003-
Sharon H Redpath Rear Admiral Commanding Officer USN Supply 200?-
Ann E Rondeau Rear Admiral Commander USN Midwest Region 2004-
Ann Turner Rear Admiral Chief US Navy Dental Corps 7.2001-
Barbara E McGann Rear Admiral Provost US Naval College R I 200?-
Patricia Tracey Vice Admiral Director US Navy Staff 2002-
Ann DeBaets Gilbride Rear Admiral US Naval Reserve Intelligence 199?-
Elizabeth M Morris Rear Admiral Dep Dir Nurse Corps Reserve 1.10.2000-
Carol M Pottinger Rear Admiral Deputy Chief US Naval Reserve 200?-
Vivien S Crea Rear Admiral United States Coast Guard 2000-
B. Generals: 31
Canada
Dominican Republic Maria Abreu General Police 200?-
Carmen Virginia Cabrera General Navy 5.3.2001-
Lourdes Altagracia Estrella General Armed Forces 5.3.2001-
Ramona Diaz Morfa General Army 5.3.2001-
Daisy Liriano Paulino General Police 5.3.2001-
Ramona Rodriguez General Police 200?-
France
Germany Verena von Weymarn General Medical Corps 200?-
Indonesia
Israel
Korea Rep YANG Seung Sook General Military Nursing Corps 2.1.2002-
South Africa Jackie Sedibe Major General South African Defence Force 199?-
United States Celia Adolphi Brig General United States Army Reserve 199?-
Patricia Anderson Brig General United States Army Reserve 199?-
Donna Barbisch Brig General United States Army Reserve 199?-
B Sue Dueitt Brig General United States Army Reserve 6.1996-
Karol A Kennedy Brig General United States Army Reserve 199?-
Claudia Kennedy Lt General United States Army 6.1996-
Carol A Mutter Lt General United States Marine Corps 1996-
Leslie F Kenne Lt General Dep Chief of Staff US Air Force 1999-
Rosanne Bailey Brig General USAF Commander Ramstein 1. 1.2002-
Maria C Evans Brig General USAF Dir Personnel Pentagon 1. 1.2002-
Jan D Eakle Brig General USAF Dep Dir Defence Finance 1. 3.2002-
Sandra A Gregory Brig General USAF Dir Budget & Personnel 1.11.2003-
Kimber L McKenzie Brig General USAF Vice-Com 8th Air Force 1.11.2003-
Polly A Peyer Brig General USAF Dir Logistics HickamAFB 1. 7.2003-
Katherine E Roberts Brig General USAF Dep Com Hanscomb AFB 1. 7.2004-
Jarisse J Sanborn Brig General USAF Chief Counsel Scott AFB 1. 4.2003-
Terry L Scherling Brig General USAF Dep Dir Foreign Support 1.10.2002-
Toreaser A Steele Brig General USAF Vice Commander Dallas 1. 4.2001-
Mary K Hartog BG (Select) USAF Com 37 Training Wing 1. 1.2000-
Ellen M Pawlikowski BG (Select) USAF Dir Airborne Laser 1.10.1996-
Melissa A Rank BG (Select) USAF Asst Surgeon General 1. 3.1999-
Janet Anthea Therianos BG (Select) USAF Asst to SECAF Pentagon 1. 5.1999-
B B
Women in Conflict Prevention, Mediation and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Lesley Abdela Project Parity – Partnerships for Peace
Tel + 44 1435 882 655 Mobile + 44 7967 650 155
European Union member states and the European Union bodies play an increasingly important role in conflict prevention, mediation and post conflict reconstruction. Over 50% of citizens in conflict situations are women. But despite international resolutions, conferences and public statements, leaders of states, politicians and international organisations such as the EU, UN, NATO, OSCE and national militaries - have mostly continued to overlook or deliberately exclude women from conflict mediation discussions, from post-conflict reconstruction planning and policy-making, from interim and transition governing councils at local and national levels and from assemblies and committees drawing up state Constitutions and even from the democratisation process itself and from DDR programmes.
2005 will be the fifth anniversary of the most forward and interesting resolution on ‘Gender Aspects of Conflict prevention , mediation and reconstruction Resolution’ which was passed by the European Parliament - Resolution A5-0308/2000 - </NoDocSe> on 29 November 2000.
Increasing participation of women and a gender perspective in all aspects of decision-making in peace building and post-conflict reconstruction is also in accord with the UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
UNSC1325 calls on all UN member states to ensure the full participation of women and the integration of a gender perspective in peace and security, policy-making, conflict management and peace-building
The systematic exclusion of women and girls has been documented in several recent peace processes.
What concrete procedures are Ministers taking to ensure that gender concerns are properly addressed in resolutions, mission mandates and progress reports.
What steps are Ministers taking to ensure women are treated as equal partners throughout peace processes?One of the concrete recommendations in the European Parliament Report that accompanies the Resolution is the call for women to make up least 40% representation at all levels on reconciliation, peace-keeping, peace enforcement, peace-building entities and on appointed interim governments.