WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH 2021
Tales 'N' Treats celebrated Women's History Month throughout March 2021. Every day, we celebrated the achievements of women in different fields. Not only did this encourage everyone but it also spread awareness about different problems in society. Additionally, we got to learn about some really cool professions! We learned about 31 talented women.
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ANN MAKOSINSKI
Ann was unable to study at night because her house did not have any electricity. She developed a new kind of flashlight, the Hollow Flashlight, when she was only 15 years old! It was the first flashlight that did not need batteries, wind or sun to work - it only needed body heat. Her dream is to make this flashlight available to everyone.
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balkisSa chaibou
Balkisa Chaibou is an activist. When she was a young girl, she aspired to become a doctor. However, her uncle had promised her hand in marriage to one of her cousins when she was a child. Balkissa begged her parents to let her study in school for a few more years and they agreed. After those few years, Balkissa was supposed to marry her cousin against her will. So, she ran away the night before her marriage and took her uncle to court. She won the case! Now, she is studying to become a doctor and campaign for other young girls to say 'no' to forced marriages.
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MARIE CURIE
Marie Curie was a scientist. She studied at a secret university in Poland called the Floating University. At the time, girls were not allowed to go to college at all. She and her sisters then moved to Sorbonne University in France. Marie enjoyed science and experimented with metals and magnets. Marie and her husband, Pierre, are known for discovering 2 radioactive elements: polonium and radium. Marie won 2 Nobel Prizes for her contributions!
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Malala Yousafzai
Malala is an activist. She lived in a peaceful valley in Pakistan. The Taliban forbade girls from going to school. Malala voiced her opinions against this online. After seeing this, two Taliban men shot Malala, when she was in the bus, on her way to school. Malala was rushed to the hospital and was treated timely. She now has an undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford and continues to campaign for the right to education for girls. Malala is the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
florence nightingale
5/3
Florence was a nurse. She was named after the city she was born in. Florence enjoyed traveling and learning math and science. She studied nursing and worked at a hospital for injured soldiers in Turkey. During her time there, she observed that many soldiers died because of the infections they contracted at the hospital and not their wounds. So, she took measures to ensure that proper sanitation took place. She would carry a lamp while making her rounds at night to check on her patients and give them hope. Thus, she was known as 'The Lady with the Lamp'.
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savitribai phule
Savitribai was an Indian social reformer, poet and educationalist. She is regarded as the first female teacher in India and the Mother of Feminism in India. She played an important role in uplifting women in India. Along with her husband, she founded a girl's school in Pune. She worked to eradicate discrimination and biases in the country.
GRACE O'MALLEY
Grace was a pirate. As a child, her father would tell her that girls couldn't be sailors. She disliked this. So, she cut her hair short and wore boy's clothes to prove to her parent's that she could become a sailor. Her father came around to the idea. She was a fine sailor. However, when the English attacked her castle, she became a pirate and didn't submit to them. Grace had become a rich and famous pirate. Later, the Queen of England and she became friends and helped each other.
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MARY KOM
Mary Kom is a boxer. She was born into a poor family in India. It was her childhood dream to become a boxer to provide for her family. Mary overcame many obstacles and proved herself time and again. She slept in hostels, skipped meals and ate vegetables instead of meat because she didn't have money. Mary won numerous medals including one at the Olympics. Her perseverance paid off and she was able to achieve her dream.
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NANCY WAKE
Nancy Wake was a spy. Her career began when she was just 16 years old! She was known was the White Mouse because she was impossible to catch. She would outwit the German Secret Police everytime and even made it to the Most Wanted list! In addition to this, she was also a great soldier. Nancy was awarded the George Medal by the British, 3 Croix de Guerre medals and the Medaille de la Resistance by the French and was even awarded their Legion of Honour. The Americans awarded her the Medal of Freedom.
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Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an activist from the USA. At the time, everything was segregated for black and white people. One day, while she was on a crowded bus, the driver asked Rosa (who was black) to give up her seat for a white person. Rosa said 'no.' As a result, she spent the night in jail. But, this highlighted the fact that black people could counter injustice. Her friends organised a boycott which lasted for 381 days. To end this, the U.S. Supreme Court declared bus segregation unconstitutional.
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ruth bader ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. When she was young, people would mock her for wanting to become a lawyer. They even mocked her husband, Marty, However, he was very proud of his intelligent wife. She was passionate about women's rights and fought numerous big cases. She became the second female Supreme Court Justice in the history of the USA. In addition to this, she was also considered a fashion icon.
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ALEk WEK
Alek Wek is a supermodel. She was born in a poor village in Sudan; however, she and her family lived a happy life. One day, a war broke out in their village and her family escaped to London. Alex was discovered by a talent scout in London. She became very famous because she looked so different from all the other models.
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SONITA ALIZADEH
Sonita Alizadeh is a rapper. When she was 10 years old, her parents wanted to sell her into marriage. Sonita knew she did not want to get married - she wanted to learn and sing. Before her wedding, war broke out in Afghanistan and she was sent to a refugee camp in Iran, where she went to school and learned to write songs. At 16, Sonita's mother came to convince her to get married. Sonita refused. She wrote a sing and uploaded it on YouTube; the video went viral. Sonita got a scholarship and went to study music in USA.
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yaa asantewaa
Yaa was a warrior queen. She ruled over the Asante kingdom. Her people believed in the power of this golden stool and no one was allowed to sit on it. One day, a member of the British Empire announced that they would be taking over Asante and demanded the golden stool. Everyone urged Yea to surrender as the British were powerful. But she did not. She led an army of 5,000 people into battle against the British. Though she was strong, Yaa was defeated. She never saw her land again but she continued to inspire people. They regained their independence after a few years. To this day, people sing praises of her bravery.
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billie jean king
Billie Jean King is a famous tennis player. She realised that men who play tennis earn more than women who play tennis. She found this unfair and threatened to boycott tournaments because of it. She and other female tennis players created their own circuit with 19 tournaments with many sponsors. People mocked them for playing tennis but it did not stop her. Bobby Riggs, a male tennis player, told her to work in the kitchen instead of playing tennis. Billie challenged Bobby to the Battle of the Sexes. Billie beat Bobby in straight sets. Finally, male and female tennis players started receiving equal pay.
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MADAM C.J. walker
Madam C.J. Walker was a businesswoman. She was born with the name Sarah in a family of slaves; she was the first in her family to be born free. During her time in school, she realised that her hair was falling off. So, she created a hair treatment specifically for African-Americans. Her husband suggested she change her name to Madam C.J. Walker. She traveled across the country promoting her products. Soon, she became popular. She became the first female self-made millionaire in America and encouraged ither women to create their own companies.
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JEANNE BARET
Jeanne was a housekeeper and explorer. She disguised herself as a man and sailed around the world. She used to look after the house of a man named Commerson. Commerson, though sick, was invited to sail to the New World to identify plants. He took Jeanne with him. Because women weren't allowed to board French ships, Jeanne disguised herself as a man called Jean. Commerson was very sick - so, Jeanne studied the plants herself and discovered a brightly coloured flower which Commerson named Bougainville. When people discovered Jeanne, she and Commerson hid. They completed two more scientific expeditions. But then Commerson died. When Jeanne returned to France, she had become the first woman in history to circumnavigate the globe.
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NADIA COMANECI
Nadia is a gymnast. A famous coach named Bela Karoyli discovered her while she was playing in her schoolyard. He made Nadia train hard because he wanted her to be perfect. At 14, she scored a 10 at the Olympic Games. She was the first gymnast to achieve a perfect score. Soon she became so famous that a Romanian leader grew worried that she would overshadow him. So, she forbade her from leaving the country unless it was to compete. Nadia then escaped to America where she started a family and built a business. She encouraged others to practice gymnastics.
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Troop 6000
Troop 6000 were Girl Scouts. It was created by Giselle who was a single mother of 5 children. After working hard, Giselle managed to spread the word about Troop 6000 and grew it to 28 members! It was the first troop for homeless girls in New York City. They followed a spirit of inclusiveness.
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ZHENYI WANG
Zhenyi was a Chinese astronomer. As a child, she enjoyed studying math, science, geography, poetry and medicine. She spent hours studying the planets, the Sun, the Moon and the stars. At the time, people thought lunar eclipses happened because the gods were angry but Zhenyi proved how it is a natural phenomenon. She wrote a paper on gravity in simple words so that common people could understand it. She was even a proponent of equality between men and women.
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BRONTË sisters
There were 3 Brontë sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anna. As children, they often wrote stories and poems to entertain themselves. When they grew up, they decided to write a book of poems together. However, that book did not sell. So, they decided to write separate books. Those books were very successful. People could not beliebe that women wrote such beautiful books. Even today, their books are read and enjoyed by people.
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ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA
Anna Politkovskaya was a journalist. She was born in Russia. When war broke out in Russia, Anna was there reporting it. Many people including her husband discouraged her as it was dangerous; however, Anna was brave. Over there, people from both sides of the war tried to silence her but she was unstoppable. They even tried to poison her teal In spite of this, Anna carried on with her journalism. She continued reporting stories until the day she died.
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AMNA AL HADDAD
Amna is a weightlifter from the United Arab Emirates. Earlier, she was a journalist. However, she was unift and unhappy. So, she started to work out at the gym. When the International Weightlifting Federation allowed Muslim women to participate in a unitard, she started competing. She even took part in the Olympic games in Rio. She has become an icon for girls all around the world. Amna believe sthat everyone should find a sport that they enjoy and pursue it.
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THE MIRABAL SISTERS
There were 4 Mirabal sisters - Minerva, Patria, Maria Teresa, and Dede. People called them Las Mariposas which means The Butterflies. They were activists from the Dominican Republic. They raised awareness and organised a movement against the dictator, Trujilo. Trujilo did not like the fact that girls were protesting against him because he believed that women shoudl be feminine and delicate.He tried silencing them in many ways but they always bounced back. The Sisters inspired others to oppose him and eventually, Trujilo lost power.
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Nettie stevens
Nettie was a geneticist. Earlier, she was a teacher. She saved as much money as she could while teaching and at 35, she moved to California to attend Stanford University. She was researching why boys were born as boys and girls were born as girls. She started studying mealworms to solve this question. Finally, after putting in long hours and working hard, she finally managed to find the answer. This was a really important discovery in science.
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SEONDEOK OF SILLA
Seondeok of Silla was a queen. She ruled over one of the three kingdoms of Korea. When she became queen, a nobleman named Lord Bidam told her that she will fail. She persevered throughout her successful reign. She was very smart and amazed everyone with her wisdom. The queen sent scholars and students to China to study and encouraged friendships between countries.
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MICHAELA DEPRINCE
Michaela is a ballerina. She became an orphan during a war. Michaela had vitiligo because of which, people alienated her. She had one best friend, Mia. After seeing a ballerina in a magazine, Michaela wanted to become a ballerina. Soon, Mia and Michaela were separated. To console herself, Michaela would dream that she and Mia were adopted by a mother and she had become a ballerina. Her dreams started to come true! A lady adopted both Mia and Michaela and Michaela was able to become a ballerina. Now, she is a ballerina at the Dutch National Ballet.
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AMELIA EARHART
Amelia Earhart was an aviator. She saved up money to buy a yellow airplane which she called The Canary. She became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She was very adventurous and liked doing new things. She flew through harsh weather conditions bravely. However, she could only carry one small bag with her. One of long flights was going well and she was supposed to land on Howland Island but she was running low on fuel. Her plane disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean and hasn't been found yet. She encouraged women to be brave and do things that men have done too.
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grace hopper
Grace Hopper was a computer scientist. As a girl, she was interested in how things in the world work. During World War II, Grace joined the Navy where her grandfather was an admiral. She worked on a special project on a computer called Mark I. No one knew how it worked but Grace spent countless hours studying it and writing programs for it. Because of this, the US Forces were able to decode secret messages sent by their enemies during war. Even in her old age, she was always consulted for her expertise. She became an admiral like her grandfather.
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millo CASTRO ZALDARRIAGA
Millo was a drummer from Cuba. When she was young, she dreamt of playing the drums. Everyone around her said only boys could play drums and discouraged her from playing the drums. One day, her father took her to see a music lesson. She impressed the music teacher by her skills in playing almost all instruments; and the teacher started giving her daily lessons. When her sister put together Cuba's first all-girl band, Millo (10 years old) joined the band. Millo soon became very famous.
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Wilma Rudolph
Wilma Rudolph was an athlete. As a little girl, she was diagnosed with polio and her left leg was paralysed. The doctors said that she may not ever walk again. Her mother rook her to the city for treatment every week. Every day, one of her siblings would massage her weak leg. She was teased for using braces to walk by other students in the neighbourhood. Slowly, Wilma got stronger and practised walking herself without any help. By the time she was 9, she was able to walk by herself, without any braces. She played basketball and won races. She grew up to become the fastest woman in the world and broke 3 world records at the 1960 Olympic Games.