Women's rights & well-being
Iceland’s Vigdís Finnbogadóttir becomes the world’s first-ever democratically elected female head of state
Vigdís ran for president to prove that women were able to lead political campaigns, and she did not expect to win. Despite this, Vigdís won the election on 29 June 1980. The vote was split between four candidates, and she prevailed with 33.6% of the vote. Having served as president of Iceland for 16 years, she is the longest-serving elected female head of state in history.
Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
As prime minister, she implemented policies that became known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the “Iron Lady”, a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.
Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Read more
Five feminists create the first women’s owned-and-operated record label, Olivia Records
Olivia Records was a collective founded in 1973 to record and market women’s music.
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Iranian women win the right to vote
Iranian women did not obtain this right easily, either. They earned voting rights in 1963, on the heels of 56 years of protest and persistence.
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Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to complete transatlantic flight
In 1932, piloting a Lockheed Vega 5B, Earhart made a nonstop solo transatlantic flight, becoming the first woman to achieve such a feat. She received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross for this accomplishment.
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The Soviet Union becomes the first modern state in the world to formally legalize abortion
In October 1920, the Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin made abortion legal within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic with their “Decree on Women’s Healthcare”. After the RSFSR, the law was introduced in Ukraine in July 1921 and then the remainder of the Soviet Union. The government saw legalization as a temporary necessity, as after the economic crisis and nearly a decade of unrest, war, revolution, and civil war, many women would be seeking abortions due to not being able to take care of their child.
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After decades of protest, American women win the right to vote
After a hard-fought series of votes in the U.S. Congress and in state legislatures, the Nineteenth Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920.
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Constance Markievicz becomes first woman elected to U.K.’s House of Commons
Constance Georgine Markievicz was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the first woman elected to the Westminster Parliament. On 28 December 1918, she was the first woman elected to the UK House of Commons, though, being in Holloway Prison at the time and in accordance with party policy, she did not take her seat. She was also one of the first women in the world to hold a cabinet position, as Ireland’s Minister for Labour from 1919 to 1922.
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New Culture Movement promoting progressive values emerges in China
They called for the creation of a new Chinese culture based on global and western standards, especially democracy and science. Y
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