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List of women pacifists and peace activists

This is a list of women pacifists and peace activists by nationality – notable women who are well known for their work in promoting pacifism.

Introduction

Women have been active in peace movements since at least the 19th century. After the First World War broke out in 1914, many women's organizations became involved in peace activities. In 1915, the International Congress of Women in the Hague brought together representatives from women's associations in several countries, leading to the establishment of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. This in turn led to national chapters which continued their work in the 1920s and 1930s. After the Second World War, European women once again became involved in peace initiatives, mainly as a result of the Cold War, while from the 1960s the Vietnam War led to renewed interest in the United States.

Afghanistan

Angola

Argentina

  • Alicia Moreau de Justo (1885–1986) – Argentine physician, politician, pacifist and human rights activist

Armenia

  • Lucy Thoumaian (1890–1940) – Armenian women's rights and peace activist

Australia

Austria

  • Hildegard Goss-Mayr (born 1930) — Austrian pacifist and theologian
  • Yella Hertzka (1873–1948) – Austrian peace and women's rights activist
  • Leopoldine Kulka (1872–1920) – Austrian writer, editor and pacifist
  • Helene Lecher (1865–1929) – Austrian pacifist and philanthropist
  • Olga Misař (1876–1950) – Austrian peace activist, feminist and writer
  • Helene Scheu-Riesz (1880–1970), peace activist, children's writer, publisher
  • Bertha von Suttner (1843–1914) – Czech-Austrian pacifist, first woman Nobel peace laureate

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

  • Elisa Branco (1912–2001) – Brazilian communist and peace activist, awarded with the Lenin Peace Prize
  • Therezinha Zerbini (1928–2015) – Brazilian attorney and feminist leader, founded the Women's Movement for Amnesty in Brazil

Bulgaria

  • Ekaterina Karavelova (1860–1947) – Bulgarian educator, writer, suffragist, feminist, pacifist

Canada

Chile

Colombia

  • Yolanda Becerra (born 1959) – Colombian feminist and peace activist.

Costa Rica

  • Olga Bianchi (1924–2015) – feminist, pacifist and women's rights activist

Cyprus

Denmark

  • Matilde Bajer (1840–1934) – Danish feminist and peace activists
  • Henriette Beenfeldt (1878–1949) – Danish radical and peace activist
  • Gita Brooke (1931–2020) - born in Denmark (in New Zealand since 1987)
  • Benny Cederfeld de Simonsen (1865–1952) – Danish peace activist
  • Henriette Crone (1874–1933) – trade unionist, peace activist and politician
  • Thora Daugaard (1874–1951) – Danish feminist, pacifist, journal editor and translator
  • Henni Forchhammer (1863–1955) – Danish educator, feminist and pacifist
  • Eline Hansen (1859–1919) – Danish feminist and peace activist
  • Estrid Hein (1873–1956) – Danish ophthalmologist, women's rights activist and pacifist
  • Ellen Hørup (1871–1953) – Danish writer, pacifist and women's rights activist
  • Johanne Meyer (1838–1915) – pioneering Danish suffragist, pacifist and journal editor
  • Eva Moltesen (1871–1934) – Finnish-Danish writer and peace activist
  • Camilla Nielsen (1856–1932) – Danish philanthropist, feminist and peace activist
  • Louise Nørlund (1854–1919) – Danish feminist and peace activist
  • Voldborg Ølsgaard (1877–1939) – Danish peace and women's rights activist
  • Clara Tybjerg (1864–1941) – Danish feminist, peace activist and educator
  • Louise Wright (1861–1935) – Danish philanthropist, feminist and peace activist
  • Else Zeuthen (1897–1975) – Danish peace activist, feminist and politician

Finland

  • Maikki Friberg (1861–1927) – Finnish educator, journal editor, suffragist and peace activist.
  • Lucina Hagman (1853–1946) – Finnish feminist, politician, pacifist.
  • Helena Kekkonen (1926–2014), Finnish peace activist and peace educator.

France

  • Marcelle Capy (1891–1962) – French novelist, journalist, pacifist
  • Bernadette Cattanéo (1899-1963) – French trade unionist, communist activist, newspaper editor, magazine co-founder
  • Fanny Clar (1875-1944) – French journalist and writer
  • Gabrielle Duchêne (1870–1954) – French feminist and pacifist
  • Solange Fernex (1934–2006) – French peace activist and politician
  • Suzanne Grinberg (1899–1972) – French lawyer, pacifist, suffragist and writer
  • France Hamelin (1918–2007) – French artist, peace activist and resistance worker
  • Germaine Malaterre-Sellier (1889–1967) – French nurse, suffragist and pacifist
  • Jeanne Mélin (1877–1964) – French pacifist, feminist, writer and politician
  • Maria Pognon (1844–1925) – French writer, feminist, suffragist and pacifist
  • Marie-Louise Puech-Milhau (1876–1966) – French pacifist, feminist and journal editor
  • Colette Reynaud (1872–1965) – French feminist, socialist and pacifist journalist
  • Madeleine Vernet (1878–1949) – French educator, writer and pacifist

Germany

Guatemala

Hungary

  • Vilma Glücklich (1872–1927) – Hungarian educator, pacifist and women's rights activist
  • Paula Pogány (1884–1982) – Hungarian women's rights activist and pacifist
  • Rosika Schwimmer (1877–1948) – Hungarian pacifist, feminist and suffragist

India

  • Kirthi Jayakumar (born 1987) – Indian peace activist and gender equality activist, youth peace activist, peace educator and founder of The Red Elephant Foundation
  • Gurmehar Kaur (born 1996) – Indian student and peace activist
  • Mother Teresa (1910–1997) – Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun, missionary, pacifist, Nobel Peace Prize recipient
  • Medha Patkar (born 1954) – Indian activist for Tribals and Dalits affected by dam projects
  • Manasi Pradhan (born 1962) – Indian activist; founder of Honour for Women National Campaign
  • Arundhati Roy (born 1961) – Indian writer, social critic and peace activist

Iran

  • Shirin Ebadi (born 1947) – Iranian lawyer, human rights activist, Nobel peace laureate

Iraq

  • Nadia Murad (born 1993) – Iraqi human rights activist, Nobel Prize laureate

Ireland

Israel

  • Marcia Freedman (born 1938) – American-Israeli peace activist, feminist and supporter of gay rights
  • Dahlia Ravikovitch (1936–2005) – Israeli poet and peace activist
  • Hagar Rublev (1954–2000) – Israeli peace activist, founder of Women in Black
  • Ada Yonath (born 1939) – Israeli Laureate of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2009, pacifist

Italy

  • Elisa Agnini Lollini (1858–1922) – pioneering Italian feminist, pacifist, suffragist and politician
  • Cora di Brazza (1862-1944) – designer of the peace flag, pacifist
  • Alma Dolens (1869–1948) –pacifist, suffragist, journalist
  • Alaide Gualberta Beccari (1842–1906) – Italian feminist, pacifist and social reformer
  • Rosa Genoni (1867–1954) – Italian fashion designer, feminist, pacifist
  • Linda Malnati (1855–1921) – influential women's rights activist, trade unionist, suffragist, pacifist and writer
  • Virginia Tango Piatti (1869–1958) – writer and pacifist, WILPF delegate
  • Graziella Sonnino (born 1884) – feminist and peace activist
  • Ida Vassalini (1891–1953) – chair of the Milanese WILPF chapter from 1922 to 1927

Ivory Coast

  • Aya Virginie Toure – Ivorian peace activist, proponent of non-violent resistance

Japan

  • Atsuko Betchaku (1960–2017) – pacifist and educator
  • Marii Hasegawa (1918–2012) – Japanese peace activist
  • Raichō Hiratsuka (1886–1971) – Japanese writer, political activist, feminist, pacifist
  • Tano Jōdai (1886–1982) – Japanese English literature professor, peace activist and university president
  • Nahoko Takada (1905–1991) – Japanese educator, pacifist and politician
  • Fumiko Nakamura (1913–2013) – Japanese teacher and anti-war activist
  • Shina Inoue Kan (1899–1982) – Japanese academic, women's rights activist and pacifist
  • Yosano Akiko (1878–1942) – Japanese writer, feminist, pacifist

Kenya

  • Dekha Ibrahim Abdi (1964–2011) – Kenyan peace activist
  • Grace Lolim – Kenyan human rights and peace activist, former chair of the Isiolo Peace Committee
  • Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) – Kenyan environmental activist, Nobel peace laureate

Liberia

Lithuania

  • Gabrielle Radziwill (1877–1968) – Lithuanian pacifist, feminist and League of Nations official

Myanmar

  • Aung San Suu Kyi (born 1945) – Burmese politician, author, Nobel Peace Prize recipient

Netherlands

  • Mia Boissevain (1878–1959) – Dutch zoologist, feminist and pacifist
  • Suze Groeneweg (1875–1940) – Dutch politician, feminist and pacifist
  • Aletta Jacobs (1854–1929) – Dutch physician, feminist and peace activist
  • Rosa Manus (1881–1942) – Dutch pacifist and suffragist
  • Adrienne van Melle-Hermans (1931–2007) – Dutch peace activist
  • Selma Meyer (1890–1941) – Dutch pacifist and resistance fighter of Jewish origin
  • Cornelia Ramondt-Hirschmann (1871–1957) – Dutch teacher, feminist and pacifist
  • Titia van der Tuuk (1854–1939) – Dutch feminist and pacifist
  • Krista van Velzen (born 1974) – Dutch politician, pacifist and antimilitarist
  • Mien van Wulfften Palthe (1875–1960) – Dutch feminist, suffragist and pacifist

New Zealand

  • Millicent Baxter (1888–1984) – peace activist
  • Gita Brooke (1931–2020) – born in Denmark in New Zealand since 1987
  • Sonja Davies (1923–2005) – New Zealand trade unionist, peace campaigner, and Member of Parliament
  • Kate Dewes (born 1954) – New Zealand disarmament activist, pacifist
  • Maire Leadbeater (born 1945) – New Zealand human rights and peace activist, writer, and social worker
  • Elsie Locke (1912–2001), New Zealand communist, historian and activist, co-founded the New Zealand branch of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
  • Kae Miller (1910–1994) – peace activist, pacifist, mental health advocate
  • Margaret Sievwright (1844–1905) – feminist, peace activist
  • Miriam Soljak (1879–1971) – New Zealand feminist, rights activist and pacifist

Norway

  • Elise M. Boulding (1920–2010) – Norwegian-born American sociologist, specialising in academic peace research
  • Gunhild Emanuelsen (1914–2006) – pacifist, women's rights activist
  • Ingrid Fiskaa (born 1977) – Norwegian politician and peace activist
  • Louise Keilhau (1860–1927) – peace activist, educator
  • Martha Larsen Jahn (1875–1954) – Norwegian peace activist and feminist
  • Louise Keilhau (1860–1927) – Norwegian teacher and pacifist
  • Sigrid Helliesen Lund (1892–1987) – Norwegian peace activist
  • Guri Tambs-Lyche (1917–2008) – Norwegian women's rights activist and pacifist
  • Ida Wedel-Jarlsberg (1855–1929) – peace activist, feminist, artist

Pakistan

  • Malala Yousafzai (born 1997) – Pakistani education activist, Nobel Prize laureate

Palau

  • Gabriela Ngirmang (1922–2007) – Palauan peace and anti-nuclear activist

Serbia

South Africa

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Trinidad and Tobago

  • Folade Mutota – Trinidadian politician, arms control expert, and women's rights activist, coordinator of the Caribbean Coalition for Development and the Reduction of Armed Violence (CDRAV)

United Kingdom

United States

  • Bella Abzug (1920–1998) – American lawyer, politician, social activist and pacifist
  • Jane Addams (1860–1935) – American, national chairman of Woman's Peace Party, president of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and 1931 Nobel peace laureate.
  • Fannie Fern Andrews (1867–1950) – American educator, writer, social worker and pacifist
  • Joan Baez (born 1941) – prominent American anti-war protester, inspirational singer
  • Ella Baker (1903–1986) – African-American civil rights activist, feminist, pacifist
  • Emily Greene Balch (1867–1961) – American pacifist, leader of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and 1946 Nobel peace laureate
  • Medea Benjamin (born 1952) – American author, organizer, co-founder of the anti-militarist Code Pink
  • Elise M. Boulding (1920–2010) – American Quaker sociologist and author, major contributor to creating the academic discipline of Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Norma Elizabeth Boyd (1888–1985) – African American politically active educator, children's rights proponent, pacifist
  • Heloise Brainerd (1881–1869) – American women activist, pacifist
  • Sophonisba Breckinridge (1866–1948) – American educator, social reformer, pacifist
  • Olympia Brown (1835–1926) – American theologist, suffragist, pacifist
  • Gertrude C. Bussey (1888–1961) – American philosopher, peace activist
  • Joan Chittister (born 1936) – American Benedictine nun, prioress, writer, pacifist, co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women
  • Judy Collins (born 1939) – inspirational American anti-war singer-songwriter, protester
  • Rachel Corrie (1979–2003) – American activist for Palestinian human rights
  • Frances Crowe (born 1919) – American pacifist, anti-nuclear power activist, draft counselor supporting conscientious objectors
  • Dorothy Day (1897–1980) – American journalist, social activist, and co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement
  • Dorothy Detzer (1893–1981) – American feminist, peace activist, U.S. secretary of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
  • Amanda Deyo (1838–1917) – American Universalist minister, peace activist, correspondent
  • Mary Dingman (1875–1961) – American social and peace activist
  • Roberta Dunbar (died 1956) – American clubwoman and peace activist
  • Crystal Eastman (1881–1928) – American lawyer, suffragist, pacifist, journalist
  • Cynthia Enloe (born 1938) – American writer and feminist peace theorist
  • Hedy Epstein (1924–2016) – Jewish-American antiwar activist, escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport; active in opposition to Israeli military policies
  • Jodie Evans (born 1954) – American political activist, co-founder of Code Pink, filmmaker
  • Genevieve Fiore (1912–2002) – American women's rights and peace activist
  • Jane Fonda (born 1937) – American anti-war protester, actress
  • Elisabeth Freeman (1876–1942) – American suffragist, civil rights activist and pacifist
  • Emma Goldman (1869–1940) – Russian/American activist imprisoned in the U.S. for opposition to World War I
  • Amy Goodman (born 1957) – American journalist, host of Democracy Now!
  • Alice Hamilton (1869–1970) – American physician, toxicologist, humanitarian and peace activist
  • Judith Hand (born 1940) – American biologist, pioneer of peace ethology
  • Florence Jaffray Harriman (1870–1967) – American suffragist, social reformer, pacifist and diplomat
  • Erna P. Harris (1908-1995) – African-American journalist, civil rights and peace activist
  • Alice Herz (1882–1965) – German-born American peace activist
  • Margaret Isely (1921–1997) – American peace activist and co-founder of WCPA
  • Jessie Jack Hooper
  • Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910) – American writer, social activist, peace advocate
  • Hannah Clothier Hull (1872–1958) – American Quaker activist, in the leadership of WILPF in the US
  • Inez Jackson (1907–1993) – African American pacifist and civil rights activist
  • Lisa Kalvelage (1923–2009) – German-born American anti-war activist remembered as one of the Napalm ladies
  • Helen Keller (1880–1968) – American activist, deafblind writer, speech "Strike Against The War" Carnegie Hall, New York 1916
  • Kathy Kelly (born 1952) – American peace and anti-war activist, arrested over 60 times during protests; member and organizer of international peace teams
  • Coretta Scott King (1927–2006) – American writer, civil rights leader and pacifist
  • Lola Maverick Lloyd (1875–1944) – American pacifist, suffragist, feminist
  • Elizabeth McAlister (born 1939) – American former nun, co-founder of Jonah House, peace activist
  • Bertha McNeill (1887–1979) – African-American WILPF leader and civil rights activist
  • Ava Helen Pauling (1903–1981) – American human rights activist, feminist, pacifist
  • Jeannette Rankin (1880–1973) – first woman elected to the U.S. Congress, lifelong pacifist
  • Coleen Rowley (born 1954) – ex-FBI agent, whistleblower, peace activist, and the first recipient of the Sam Adams Award
  • Cindy Sheehan (born 1957) – American anti-Iraq and anti-Afghanistan war leader
  • Jeanmarie Simpson (born 1959) – American feminist, peace activist
  • Samantha Smith (1972–1985) – American schoolgirl, young advocate of peace between Soviets and Americans
  • Eve Tetaz (born 1931) – retired American teacher, peace and justice activist
  • Lillian Wald (1867–1940) – American nurse, writer, human rights activist, suffragist and pacifist
  • Mary Wilhelmine Williams (1878–1944) – American historian, feminist and pacifist
  • Anita Parkhurst Willcox (1892–1984) – American artist, feminist, pacifist
  • Fanny Garrison Villard (1844–1928) – American suffragist and pacifist,
  • Alice Walker (born 1944) – American novelist, feminist and pacifist
  • Jody Williams (born 1950) – American anti-landmine advocate and organizer, Nobel peace laureate
  • Dagmar Wilson (1916–2011) – American illustrator, pacifist, founder of Women Strike for Peace
  • Mary Emma Woolley (1863-1947) – American educator, peace activist, sole US female delegate to the Conference on Reduction and Limitation of Armaments

Venezuela

  • Sheyene Gerardi – human rights advocate, peace activist, founder of the SPACE Movement

Yemen

  • Tawakkol Karman (born 1979) – Yemini journalist, politician and human rights activist; shared 2011 Nobel Peace prize

See also

References