Who are the Womyn who inspire you?
Some of the ones on my list include the Nobel Peace Prize winners below, along with:
Harriet Tubman
Rachel Carson
Katherine Johnson
Dorothy Day
Berta Caceres
Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin
My mother: Ruth Weaver
My sisters: Valerie Weaver-Zercher and Anne Kaufman Weaver
Mary Oliver
Joy Harjo
My college friends: Kris, Nancy, Gloria, Anne Marie, and Juji
My nieces: Lara and Keri
The young women who teach me in my classroom each day
You, and You, and You: teachers and wise womyn, thinkers and activists, poets and preachers, raging and tender and hopeful and standing on the edge of despair, young ones and elders
Quotations by Peace Prize winners for International Women’s Day:
“If he [the Talib] comes, what would you do Malala? …If you hit a Talib with your shoe, then there will be no difference between you and the Talib. You must not treat others…with cruelty…you must fight others but through peace, through dialogue and through education…then I’ll tell him [the Talib] how important education is and that I even want education for your children as well… that’s what I want to tell you, now do what you want.” —Malala Yousufzai, In a Daily Show interview
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“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” —Malala Yousufzai
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“Don’t wait for a Gandhi, don’t wait for a King, don’t wait for a Mandela. You are your own Mandela, you are your own Gandhi, you are your own King.” —Leymah Gbowee
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“The world is upside down, it’s going to take a lot of hands to turn it right side up.” —Leymah Gbowee
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“You cannot enslave a mind that knows itself. That values itself. That understands itself.” —Wangari Maathai
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“Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing. You are just talking.” —Wangari Maathai
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“It’s not just about hope and ideas. It’s about action.” —Shirin Ebadi
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“I maintain that nothing useful and lasting can emerge from violence.” —Shirin Ebadi
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“Human rights is a universal standard. It is a component of every religion and every civilization.’ —Shirin Ebadi
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“If you can’t eliminate injustice, at least tell everyone about it.” —Shirin Ebadi
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“What I treasure most in life is being able to dream. During my most difficult moments and complex situations I have been able to dream of a more beautiful future.” —Rigoberta Menchu
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“We have learned that change cannot come through war. War is not a feasible tool to use in fighting against the oppression we face. War has caused more problems. We cannot embrace that path.” —Rigoberta Menchu
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“To be a light to others you will need a good dose of the spiritual life. Because as my mother used to say, if you are in a good place, then you can help others; but if you’re not well, then go look for somebody who is in a good place who can help you.” —Rigoberta Menchu
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“Peace cannot exist without justice, justice cannot exist without fairness, fairness cannot exist without development, development cannot exist without democracy, democracy cannot exist without respect for the identity and worth of cultures and peoples.” —Rigoberta Menchu
Mockingbird Chronicles 