Women of Note
"Nothing Is as Powerful as a Idea Whose Time Has Come"; How Quickly the Issue of Sexual Assault Went Viral
Jo Freeman writes: One of the most striking aspects of the protests against putting Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court was how quickly the issue of sexual assault went viral. There are many reasons to not want Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court but that’s the one that caught fire. Another striking aspect was that 90% of the people who turned out to protest, at least in DC where I participated in those protests, were women. They were mostly older women, not the younger ones who usually populate protests. more »
The Nobel Peace Prize: For Efforts to End the Use of Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War and Armed Conflict
Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad have both put their personal security at risk by courageously combating war crimes and seeking justice for the victims. They have thereby promoted the fraternity of nations through the application of principles of international law. This year marks a decade since the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1820 (2008), which determined that the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict constitutes both a war crime and a threat to international peace and security. This is also set out in the Rome Statute of 1998, which governs the work of the International Criminal Court. more »
Updated - Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics: Donna Strickland, First Woman in 55 Years to Receive a Physics Prize: A Laser Jock
Dr. Donna Strickland said they were aware at the time they were working on something cutting-edge. "Yes, we knew it would be a game-changer," she told the BBC. The physics professor used the description in an interview with a Canadian newspaper, where she discussed efforts to get young people interested in the realm of physics. Dr. Strickland has spent much of her life studying and teaching physics, and describes her research as "fun". Now she shares the distinction of being one of three women to ever win the Nobel Prize for physics. more »
Ruby Violet Payne-Scott's Work Was Recognized as the Mathematical Foundation of Future Research in Radio Astronomy but Then She Married
On 8 September 1944 at the district registrar’s office, Ashfield, Payne-Scott married William Holman Hall, a telephone mechanic. In 1950 CSIRO management officially heard of her marriage. Since public service rules at the time required women to resign upon marriage, she lost her permanent position and became a temporary employee — a loss of status she indignantly protested in keeping with her fearless, unconventional character and passionate commitment to her political views. She left CSIRO and radio astronomy in 1951, when she was expecting her first child. more »
