To conclude Women's History Month, I would like to dedicate this article to all the brave women who have fought for women's rights and equality all over the world. Tragically, these heroes were also killed for their beliefs. We owe them so much.
Emily Davison - 8th June 1913.
A proud Suffragette, Emily threw herself in front of King George V's horse. Why she did it, exactly, nobody is certain but we can make a pretty good guess: Emily walked out onto the concourse during the race after she went on hunger strike over seven times, broke windows, threw stones set fire to postboxes and other property, deliberately interrupted meetings from which women were barred and planting bombs—all in the name of fighting for women's rights. To say she was hardcore is an understatement. Her achievements were held in high value amongst the Suffragettes and it's said that her funeral was attended by over 50,000 people (Suffragettes and their supporters alike).
Nadia Vera - 31st July 2015
An open critic of the Governor of Veracruz and committed activist, Nadia, along with three other women, was killed in an apartment in Mexico City. Alongside them, a photojournalist (Rubén Espinosa), was also killed. Each one had been shot in the head.
Francela Méndez - 31st May 2015.
A member of the Colectivo Alejandría, Francela, a trans woman, fought hard to promote the rights of the LGBT+ community in El Salvador. She was also an active member of an HIV prevention programme. She was killed in the home of a friend. Her friend, Consuela Flores Martínez, was also murdered.
Intissar al-Hasairi - 24 February 2015
Intissar al-Hasairi was a human rights defender and co-founder of the Tanweer Movement in Lybia. This movement supports and promotes equal rights for women and LGTB+ communities. Ms Intissar al-Hasairi was shot dead and found in the trunk of a car alongside her aunt in Tripoli, Libya.
Mahsa Amini - Iran.
In Sept. 2022, Mahsa Amini was detained by the so-called 'morality police' in Tehran, Iran. She was accused of violating the strict dress code imposed by the government. Soon after, Mahsa Amini fell into a coma and died.
Her death, however, was as tragic as it was powerful - soon after, women began to protest the government. They took to the streets, screaming with rage, whipping off their hijabs and waving them around. Countless women have been arrested and detained by Iran's 'special security forces'.
However, it's not just about the hijab. The women's whole argument is that they should be allowed to choose whether or not they wear the hijab. Tied into this argument are the general freedoms of women in Iran. Today, many are fighting to be able to attend school, and university and not be forced into staying home and having children. The resentment against the hijab law and against the regime grows daily: girls going to school are being gassed with chemicals simply just for going to school. 'Special security forces' are invading people's homes and shooting them. There are even reports of the 'special security forces' taking the bodies of the dead and burying them in unmarked graves. This led to men stepping into the fight - men began surrounding funeral processions of those who had died in the protests to prevent the 'special forces'
Jo Cox - 16th June 2016.
Civil rights activist and Labour party member, Jo Cox fought for resolutions to conflicts throughout the Near and Middle East, including the civil war in Syria. Jo was shot and repeatedly stabbed by a "man" who held far-right views.
Almaas Elman - 20th November 2019
A devoted activist, aid worker and women's rights advocate, Almaas Elamn, a Canadian-Somalia citizen travelled to Somalia to work as a liaison with European Union diplomats. After her father was murdered in 1996, her mother founded the Elman Peace Centre in Mogadishu. Their goal was to restore peace in Somalia after years of brutal war. Almaas Elman was shot dead in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
Viola Gregg Liuzzo - March 25 1965
Acted as a participant in the Selma March for civil rights and also drove protestors to the march. She was shot on the Selma Highway, Alabama
Jyoti Pandey - Dec. 2012
Died following a vicious gang rape in New Dehli, India. Similar to Masha Amini, Jyoti Pandey's death sparked a national and international outcry and many protests followed. The protests focused on women's rights - improving safety in public spaces, including public transport. This is because Jyoti Pandey was gang-raped on a bus. On that bus were seven "men" and the driver decided to drive the bus in a different direction than its normal route. He continued to drive as the seven "men" violently assaulted and raped Jyoti. What's even more devastating is that Jyoti was accompanied by a male friend, Awindra, who was beaten unconscious. Fortunately, these "men" were sentenced to death. Regardless, the protests continued and even became violent, resulting in a curfew being imposed and riot police being deployed. The riots paid off: the following year, in 2013, the government passed the Criminal Law Amendment Act which updated the Indian Penal Code and Evidence Act for sex crimes.
I just want to add a couple of more names to this article, even though these women didn't die. However, they deserve to be recognised because they, in their own way, fought for women and girls everywhere.
Malala Yousafzai
By now, Malala Yousafzai is a household name for all the right reasons. When she was just 11 years old (2008) the Taliban, who had seized power and who were hell-bent on stopping girls from accessing education, forced many schools to close. This rightfully outraged Malala and girls across the country, including some men, too: Malala's father ran a girls' school in their village. Four years later, Malala, who had refused to stay silent and continued to publicly advocate and push for girls' education, boarded a bus. Shortly after, an individual got on the bus and shot Malala in the head. She was flown to the U.K. where she received life-saving treatment and international recognition for her bravery. To this day, Malala is a devout advocate for girls all over the globe. Around the world, 130 million girls are currently not able to access education and Malala recognises that the fight needs to be continued until this grievous wrong is rectified.
Usha Narayane and the women of Kasturba Nagar, Nagpur, India - 2004.
After terrorising the district of Kasturba Nagar, and raping more than 40 women, including married women and girls (some as young as ten), the criminal Bharat Kalicharan Yadav was put on trial. Then along came the incredibly brave woman Usha Narayane. She managed to fight off an attack by Bharat and his gang which led to a mob burning down Bharat's house.
Finally, on 13 August 2004, Bharat stood trial for his crimes. However, the women of Kasturba Nagar weren't having that. Probably because they knew it would be a bullshit trial with a bullshit outcome (after all, Bharat had been bribing the police for years which enabled him to get away with the most heinous crimes you can imagine). So, they took the law into their own hands: they stormed the courtroom and murdered Bharat. Well, they did more than that. They stoned him, stabbed him, threw chilli powder on him, stomped on him, hacked off parts of his body . . .
They made sure he would never, ever again terrorist them.
What was most remarkable about this is that all of the women (several hundred of them), claimed responsibility for his death. Now, these women didn't die nor were they ever prosecuted, but they should as hell made a statement, continuing the fight for women's safety and rights everywhere.
You can learn more by watching the docuseries Indian Predator: Murder in the Courtroom, currently streaming on Netflix.
I will finish here. By no means is this an exhaustive list - women all over the world work tirelessly to promote women's rights and advocate for stricter safety measures. One brilliant tool for raising awareness of women's suffering and realities all over the world is TikTok. TikTok has helped women document their experiences as they happen in real-time. It's eye-opening to see just how often women and girls are harassed, pressured, gaslit and manipulated on a daily basis. Lots of footage has come out of Iran that you won't see on the news - footage of parents being denied entry to hospitals to see their daughters. Footage of parents being attacked for supporting their daughters. Women are also reporting on the misogyny they experience at the hands of people we should trust: doctors, lawyers, employers . . . you name it. Women are even recording as their partner abuses them. In turn, people, who now finally have a way of confirming women's allegations, are stepping in to help. As we all know, Congress is trying to ban TikTok. I'm beyond angry about this. Finally, we have a tool to educate women and girls about what misogyny looks like. What abuse looks like.
More than ever, women are getting out of abusive relationships and are seeking independence. More and more women are distancing themselves from the 'traditional' roles of women. They are saying 'no' to being wives and mothers. They are saying 'no' to being housewives. They are saying 'no' to men and are instead of pursuing lives filled with friends, no children, careers, travels, you name it. Women, more than ever, are taking control. But, as Malala stated, the work isn't done. The fight continues.
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