Womanica

Irene Fernandez (1946-2014) was a Malaysian human rights activist. She co-founded Tenaganita, a non-governmental organization that promotes the rights of migrant workers. When she raised the alarm about migrant workers’ welfare in government detentions, she became the subject of one of the longest trials in the country’s history. 

For Further Reading:

• Irene Fernandez, Champion of the Oppress...

Laudelina de Campos Melo (1904-1991) was a labor organizer in Brazil. She fought for the dignity of Black domestic workers during a time when they were seen as second-class citizens and afforded little to no rights. She created the first domestic workers organization in Brazil, which is still active today. 

For Further Reading:

• “Who was Laudelina de Campos Melo, a pioneer in the fight for the righ...

Madame Nwanyeruwa (c. 1920s) organized the Aba Women’s War, a revolt staged by Nigerian women against colonial taxation. Her actions helped ignite a movement that eventually led to the fight for independence in Nigeria. 

For Further Reading:

• “Sitting on a Man”: Colonialism and the Lost Political Institutions of Igbo Women 
• Ogu Umunwanyi, Ekong Iban, Women’...

Tapputi is widely regarded as one of the first known chemists, and her name appears in a Mesopotamian cuneiform tablet dating to approximately 1200 BCE. She is believed to have worked in the Babylonian royal palace, where she held the title of “Belatekallim,” meaning a female overseer or supervisor. Tapputi is most famous for making perfumes, the descriptions of her work provide some of the earliest documented evidence ...

Zephyr Wright (1915-1988) served as President Lyndon B. Johnson’s personal chef for nearly three decades. While her southern cooking filled stomachs and won hearts, her experiences as a Black woman in the Jim Crow South inspired Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act. 

This month, we’re bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed! We’ll be talking about Pink Collar Work...

Dido (also known as Elissa or Elisha) was a legendary Queen of Tyre who was forced to flee the city with a loyal band of followers. Sailing west across the Mediterranean, she founded the city of Carthage c. 813 BCE. 

For Further Reading:

• Dido: Queen of Carthage - Britannica
• Dido: Legendary Queen of Tyre - World History Encyclopedia
• Dido, Queen of Carthage - EBSCO Research Starters

This mont...

Florence Chadwick (1918-1995) was an American long-distance, open-water swimmer, most famous for crossing the English Channel in record time and becoming the first woman to cross the Catalina Channel in her home state of California.

For Further Reading: 

• Queen of the Channel
• A Moment in History

This month, we’re talking about Maritime Madams. Whether through scientific study, aquatic ...

Gloria Hollister (1900-1988) was a marine scientist, conservationist and explorer who made record-breaking dives in a deep-sea submersible called the Bathysphere.

For Further Reading:

• Diving in the Deep with Gloria Hollister | Inside Adams 
• Gloria Hollister Anable, 87, Dies; An Explorer and Conservationist - The New York Times 
• Woman Plumbs Depths of Ocean | In...

Fog Woman is a figure of Tlingit folklore. She has the power to turn from human form into fog and conjure up salmon. In Tlingit legends, Fog Woman is the creator and ruler of salmon. Her stories explain the annual salmon run. 

For Further Reading:

• Tlingit Women in Leadership: One Culture, Two Worlds 
• The Legend of the Fog Woman
• Tlingit Indians of Southeastern A...

Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz (1936-2021) was a Polish naval engineer and yacht captain. In 1978, she became the first woman to ever complete a solo voyage around the world. 

For Further Reading: 

• Meet Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz: The First Woman to Sail Around the World Solo | Article | Culture.pl
• Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz: 1936-2021 - Yachting Monthly

Else Bostelmann (1882-1961) was a German-born scientific illustrator and painter known for bringing the deep sea to life through her vivid and accurate underwater artwork. Working with naturalist William Beebe in the 1930s, she painted marine creatures based on descriptions he gave from his dives in Bermude. Her work helped the public visualize the mysterious world of the ocean’s depths for the first time.

For Further Reading...

Yemaya, also known as Yemoja, is one of the most revered and powerful divine spirits in various Afro-Caribbean religions, associated with fertility and motherhood. Yemaya is the goddess of the ocean and the mother of all living things, and is revered for her nurturing and protective nature. She is the source of and controller of all waters and is seen as the quintessential mother figure.

For Further Reading:

Mary Lacy (1740-1801) was a British sailor, shipwright and memoirist who defied 18th century gender norms by disguising herself as a man to join the Royal Navy. Her memoir, The Female Shipwright, is a great glimpse into maritime life and women’s roles in naval history.

For Further Reading:

• The History of the Female Shipwright eBook
• Mary Lacy: The History of The Female Shipwright by L...

Mary Becker Greene (1867-1949) was a steamboat pilot and captain who began her career in the late 1800s. A pilot for over 50 years, she was the only licensed female steamboat captain on the Ohio River. Along with her husband Gordon C. Greene, she also co-owned Greene Line Steamers, one of the most important steamboat companies of its time. She passed away at age 80, onboard the Delta Queen, the Greene Line’s most famous passe...

Naomi James (1949-present) was the first woman to single-handedly sail around the world via the dangerous Cape Horn route. Her voyage broke Sir Francis Chichester's world record for fastest solo circumnavigation by just two days. 

For Further Reading:

• Fatigue at Sea: A Circumnavigator’s Story
• The woman who sailed solo around the world
• Unlikely Round‐the‐World Sailor Learned Haw on the Way
• Around the World in 272 Day...

Ama are Japanese female fisherwomen and free divers who plunge into the ocean without oxygen tanks, or other modern diving equipment. They dive for shellfish and seafood, particularly abalone. In recent years, their numbers have declined as climate change has taken its toll and the diving population has grown older. Today, they remind us of the importance of tradition and environmental stewardship.

For Further Reading: 

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Emma Kaʻilikapuolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina (1847-1929) was a highly regarded authority on Hawaiian water rights law and unofficially considered Hawaii’s first female judge. Descended from an American sugar planter and a Hawaiian high chiefess, she was born a kaukau ali’i and educated in cultural customs and water rights from a young age. She was a curator of the Hawaiian National Museum, a Commissioner of Private Ways...

Tracy Edwards (1962 - Present), MBE skippered the first-ever all-female crew in the 1989/90 Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. She is the first woman to receive the Yachtsman of the Year trophy and has created many sailing crews to battle gender prejudice on the ocean.

For Further Reading: 

• Tracy Edwards Website
• Girl Power Talk, Interview with Tracy Edwards
• The O...

Jeanne de Clisson (1300-1359) is known as the “Lioness of Brittany.” She was a 14th-century French/Breton noblewoman who turned to piracy in order to avenge her husband’s death. 

For Further Reading:

• Jeanne de Clisson - French Women & Feminists in History: A Resource Guide 
• Jeanne de Clisson, The Lioness of Brittany - The Hundred Years War