The Missing 400 Roswell Women

From 11 Alive:

This is the 150th year since the beginning of the American Civil War. So much conflict history surrounds Atlanta and North Georgia.

Just down the road from a myriad of strip shopping centers in Atlanta and Roswell is a story of unimaginable suffering.

The Allenbrook residence in Roswell, owned by the family of Roswell King, served as the home of the Ivy Woolen Mills Superintendant.

In 1864, the mills were churning out 191,000 yards of cloth and 30,000 yards of "Roswell grey" uniforms made by hundreds of white and black women.

General Sherman ordered General Gerrard to arrest the 400 women and their 300 children and charge them with treason, he said " let them foot it."

The Union soldiers rounded up the southern women and quarantined them in Roswell's Square until early August. Then they marched with children in tow 10 miles to Marietta.

In Cobb County, women and children were put on railcars shipped north of the Ohio River with nine days of rations and dumped.

Many died, many were never seen again.

A Quiet Revolution

Review by Abbas Jaffer is Associate Editor of Altmuslimah:

The question of what Muslim women’s veiling means in America is a highly politicized, often antagonistic debate on television and in the public sphere. Provocative coverage has appeared innumerable times, including a NPR feature as well as a New York Times piece earlier this year. Altmuslimah has also published a number of articles, including “The politics of fashion,” and a series about women who have chosen to take off the veil (Part 1, Part 2). More recent journalistic and academic discussions have certainly been more nuanced and multifaceted than they previously were.

Leila Ahmed’s A Quiet Revolution is both an important and thought-provoking look at the rising visibility of veiling amongst Muslim women. What lies within is a history of the veil and its political meanings from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Ahmed consciously confronts some of her own preconceptions about what this phenomenon means, how wearing hijab rose to prominence amongst Muslim women in mid-century Egypt, and the ways in which this movement traveled and developed in the United States.

Instead of finding a history of modern veiling that reconciled with her previous thought, Leila Ahmed readily admits complicating her view upon undertaking research for this book.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf - Obstacles in Liberia

From Voice of America:

Liberian voters made history five years ago by electing Africa's first female president. But as Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf runs for re-election, voters will find few female candidates on ballots for other posts.

Liberia's Elections Commission is encouraging more women to run for elected office in a country where they make up less than 15 percent of the legislature.

Elections Commission trainers have met with women across Liberia about standing as party candidates for local and national office. Elections Commission chairman James Fromayan says the first obstacle is often political parties themselves.

“We try the best we can to appeal to political parties to begin with at the regular meetings with those parties to encourage women participation in the party at the executive committee level," he said. "You can't have an executive committee of sometimes 30 persons and just about two women. That is just not proper.”

Lifting The Veil of the Forbidden City

From Xinhuanet:

Beijing's Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, is steeped in history, dreams and tears, which are perfectly reflected in Ah! The Forbidden City.

Li Shaobai's photos and Jiang Guofang's paintings, in the book published in English by the Foreign Languages Press, are both easy on the eye and provide food for though

Painter Jiang, meanwhile, tries to revive the lives of the former inhabitants of the Forbidden City on canvas, getting into the minds of these historical figures.

Jiang also has an eye for pretty palace women, including the empress, concubines and princesses. Although they dressed in gorgeous clothes and ate delicious food, they were spiritually bereft. With so many women serving one man, few of them had the chance to be with the emperor. Their rooms were often empty and perhaps the high walls and deep courtyards were like gilded cages to them.

Female Afghan Police Officers

From Bloomberg:

The U.S. is helping recruit and train thousands of women for Afghanistan’s police and army, even as officials seek a peace agreement that might return some power to their former tormentors, the Taliban.

Some 1,200 women serve in Afghanistan’s national police and 320 in the army. More than 50 have graduated from the military’s officer candidate school and another course is under way. Four female second lieutenants from the army arrived in the U.S. last month to train as helicopter pilots.

This increasing return of women into Afghanistan’s leadership and security forces is at risk as the Obama administration steps up its drive for a peace agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban to speed the U.S. military exit.

Patricia Longinette

From St Louis Today:

Before Patricia Longinette joined in 1951, the St. Louis Police Department was a man's world.

The department had been hiring "policewomen" since 1916. But they weren't allowed to carry a gun or badge or make arrests.

Mrs. Longinette — then Patricia Murphy — and six other women who graduated from the Police Academy with her became the first female officers with the same authority as men.

Patricia Longinette died Tuesday (Aug. 2, 2011) at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur after a respiratory illness. She was 81 and had lived in Bridgeton.

She was one of the first female officers assigned to the traffic and vice divisions.

The old Globe-Democrat ran a feature story on Mrs. Longinette under the headline: "She carries a gun, but she's just another working girl." One photo showed her vacuuming the rug in her home.

She married a police officer and retired from the department in 1959 after having three children. She later had a fourth child, was divorced and took up teaching. She retired from the old All Souls Catholic School in Overland in 1993 and kept in touch with the surviving members of that first class of women.

Books - Just A few More

The end is in sight - at least for this month only!

Apprentice in Black Stockings - A Nursing Memoir 1949 - 1953 by Norma Sim

"Apprentice In Black Stockings is Norma Sim’s intriguing account of training as a ward nurse in the Sydney Hospital from 1949 to 1953. Norma draws you into her professional and private adventures, describing the daily routine of an apprentice ward nurse alongside her descriptions of her social life and romantic flirtations. The story of Norma and other trainee nurses is also interspersed with historical flashbacks to the life of Lucy Osburn and her five Florence Nightingale nurses, who came to Sydney in 1868 to set up a revolutionary nursing practice in the same hospital. Norma also discusses how little nursing and society had changed, when compared to her training more than 80 years later."

Mountain Tails by Sharyn Munro

"Before Sharyn Munro was The Woman On The Mountain, she was delighting people with the Mountain Tails of her extraordinary existence. Living alone in a solar-powered mud-brick cabin in remote NSW, Sharyn has spent years sharing the forest with an ark’s worth of native animals. Unsurprisingly, all those quolls, snakes, frogs, kookaburras, kangaroos and koalas have provided her with a wealth of material, which she has captured here in both words and drawings. How would you feel if your neighbours ate your roses, copulated on your lawn and took over your shed? Sharyn reveals exactly what it’s like to live so close to nature – both the good and the bad – as well as the lessons she continues to learn."

The Necklace - How Thirteen Women Changed Each Others Lives by Cheryl Jarvis

"Diamond necklaces are a girl’s best friend. But when Jonell McLain couldn’t afford one, she took the extraordinary step of persuading 12 friends to contribute. Thus a necklace-sharing club was born. The feel-good story of the year, it tells of how the necklace became priceless as it went from weddings to work … to skydiving. It also reveals club rules, like, ‘wear it whilst making love.’"

Purple Dandelion - A Moslem Woman's Struggle Against Violence & Oppression by Farida Sultana

"Before she migrated to New Zealand with her young daughter, Moslem woman Farida Sultana endured domestic violence and oppression. Farida grew up in Bangladesh where her education was restricted due to the Islamic culture. At 18, she was forced into an arranged marriage with a doctor, who took her to war-torn Iran. Farida’s experiences with violence drove her to open a branch of Shakti AID in New Zealand to help other migrant women who experienced domestic violence and emotional abuse. Purple Dandelion reveals the struggles of the courageous women who were supported by Shakti. It also includes a foreword by Helen Clark, the former New Zealand Prime Minister, who works for the United Nations."

A Whole Load of Front by Maria Venuti

"Maria Venuti is a showbiz legend who has wowed audiences in Australia and around the world for half a century. A Whole Load Of Front is her exuberant life story. Complete with colour photos and a foreword by Australian TV presenter Bert Newton, it tells of Maria's experiences performing in Kings Cross nightclubs, TV shows, films and theatres. She also shares her memories of being a migrant during World War II, and reveals the famous faces she has rubbed shoulders with, including gangsters and tycoons. As well as being a story of an Australian celebrity, this memoir offers a glimpse into the changes that have occurred in the Australian entertainment industry over the last 50 years."

The Locust & The Bird by Hanan Al-Shaykh

"Celebrated writer Hanan al-Shaykh brings to the page a powerful and heartbreaking story of love, loss and freedom, based upon the life of her mother, a true heroine. Kamila was nine when she moved from her poverty-stricken Lebanon village to Beirut. Illiterate and desperate to learn, she was a young girl passionate about stories, poetry and film – and a beautiful and charming boy called Muhammad. But then Kamila was forced into an arranged marriage at 14, and had two daughters within four years. Despite this, Kamila and Muhammad kept seeing each other in secret, risking their lives for their love. It took Kamila eight years to find the courage to divorce her husband – a decision that meant leaving her children behind."

Mary McKillop's Sisters - A Life Unveiled by Anne Henderson

"Always interesting and sometimes surprising, this meticulously researched book reveals what happened to Sister Mary MacKillop’s order; the Sisters of St. Joseph. Mary MacKillop became Australia’s first saint in December 2009. She was an inspiration to others, just like the nuns you’ll meet in this book, who talk honestly about their religious vows, charity work and day-to-day lives."

Elizabeth Taylor - The lady, The Lover, The Legend 1932 - 2011 by David Bret

"Acclaimed biographer David Bret has written the most revealing and definitive life story of Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor. It couldn’t be published until after her death due to fear of litigation. When Elizabeth died in March 2011, the world mourned. David Bret believes that she was the very last of the Hollywood greats. But he doesn’t shy away from revealing her not-so-flattering points in this book. He also includes controversial interviews. Amongst the many scandalous revelations, Bret discusses Elizabeth’s father’s homosexual affairs, her mother’s lesbian affairs and those with directors to get parts for Elizabeth, her ex-husband Richard Burton’s bisexuality and much more. "

Beautiful Thing - Portrait of a Bombay Bar Dancer by Sonia Faleiro

"Part memoir, part journalism, Beautiful Thing captures the life of a young bar dancer in heartbreaking and intimate detail. When Australian journalist Sonia Faleiro set out to report on Bombay’s bar dancers, she meets Leela, a young woman who has been dancing in bars since she was 13. Due to her sharp wit, charisma and stubborn optimism, Leela is the best-paid dancer in a bar on the notorious Mira Road. She has a ‘husband’ (who is already married), a few lovers whose names she can’t remember, an insufferable mother camping out in her flat and an adored best friend, Priya. But when an ambitious politician shuts downs the city’s bars, Leela is forced into the most risky kind of sex work … "

A Long Way From Paradise - Surviving the Rwandan Genocide by Leah Chishugi

A Long Way From Paradise is Leah Chishugi’s story of being an eyewitness to a massacre that claimed over 800,000 lives. Leah grew up in eastern Congo but, when she was 17, she moved to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to work as a model. She then married and had a son. In 1994, she became caught up in the horrors of the Rwandan Genocide. She escaped only after being left for dead under a pile of corpses ...   Leah fled with her son to Uganda, then South Africa where she was miraculously reunited with her husband whom she believed dead. Leah finally settled in the U.K. where she was granted asylum and became a nurse. She then decided to set up a charity to help victims of continuing war atrocities. "

More Books To Be Read

A few more books that have made their way onto my ever growing list:

The Woman Who Shot Mussolini by Frances Stonor Saunders

"7 April 1926: on the steps of the Capitol in Rome, surrounded by chanting Fascists, the Honourable Violet Gibson raises her old revolver and fires at Benito Mussolini. The bullet narrowly misses the dictator's bald head, hitting him in the nose. Of all his would-be assassins, Violet came closest to changing the course of history. What brought her to this moment? She was the daughter of an Anglo-Irish lord and had once consorted with royalty and the peerage. Violet paid for her actions for the rest of her life, confined to a lunatic asylum. Frances Stonor Saunders' moving and compulsively readable book rescues this gentle, driven woman from a silent void and restores her dignity and purpose."

The Discovery of Jeanne Baret by Glynis Ridley

"Jeanne Baret became the first woman to circumnavigate the world after she disguised herself as a teenage boy and stowed aboard a French ship in 1776 with her botanist lover. This is the story of that pioneering journey. On the ship, Baret pursued her love of botany by acting as an assistant to her lover; eminent botanist Philibert Commerson. Amid a cloud of suspicion, she travelled the world, surviving for two years on the ship with 115 men. She returned home to France in 1775 after Commerson’s death, and time spent living in Mauritius. Authored by Professor Glynis Ridley, The Discovery Of Jeanne Baret is an expertly researched and engagingly written narrative about science, adventure and love."

Empress of Rome - The Life of Livia by Matthew Dennison

"Matthew Dennison's Empress Of Livia is an unprecedented biography of one of the most intriguing figures of the early Roman empire. Empress Livia, the second wife of the emperor Augustus, has long been pegged as a scheming, power-crazed murderess, who poisoned her relatives in order to clear the path to the throne for her son, Tiberius. Here, Denison paints a markedly different picture of this fascinating woman. With eloquence and meticulous detail, Dennison reveals the empress as a complex, courageous and enormosly gifted individual who had the power and intelligence to overcome adversity in a male-dominated society, cultivating a prominent public profile and strong political influence."

Bluestockings - the Remarkable Story of the First Women to Fight for an Education by Jane Robinson

"The women who fought for the right to a university education speak out about overcoming all the odds. Equal opportunity may be taken for granted today, but 140 years ago, it was a vastly different world – especially for women with academic aspirations. In 1869, when five women enrolled at uni for the first time in British history, female brains were thought lighter than men's, and their wombs likely to shrivel and die if they studied too hard. In this fascinating history, the oral testimonies of these trailblazing young women make for an engrossing account of defiance and determination, sacrifice and self-discovery, friendship and forging new opportunities for future generations."

Evergrowing Mt TBR - Australia History

Just a few more titles to add to the every growing "Mount To Be Read":

Mary Reiby: From Convict To First Lady Of Trade by Kathleen J. Pullen

"Mary Reibey is the woman on the Australian $20 note. She gained this honour because she was Australia’s first lady of trade. This is her moving biography, a tale of love and triumph. Mary came to Australia as a convict in a lice-infested ship at the tender age of 14. She seemed doomed to a life in the filthy Botany Bay prison colony, until she caught the eye of one of the ship’s Lieutenants. The union of the two saw them rise to the top of the commercial ladder. Find out how Mary became one of Australia’s first female tycoons, head of a vast trading business and a tireless fighter against oppression and exploitation. This is a rich and authentic portrait of a woman in early colonial times."

The Diaries of Ethel Turner by Philippa Poole

"Ethel Turner was the author of some of Australia's bestselling children's novels including Seven Little Australians. This book features an intimate collection of her diaries from 1889 to 1930. Shining a spotlight on this literary icon, it presents Ethel’s reflections on Sydney's literary and social scene, her marriage and motherhood, the war years, and the tragic loss of her daughter."

Miles Franklin - Her Brilliant Career by Colin Roderick

"Few people can be compared to Miles Franklin. Genius writer, feminist and years ahead of her era, she is best known for her book My Brilliant Career and her establishment of the prestigious Miles Franklin Award for Literature. Miles Franklin was born in 1879 in country Australia. Determined to make her mark at a time when women were repressed, she wrote novels, as well as several non fiction books and articles. Colin Roderick, a confidante of Miles, presents an in-depth biography. He reveals Miles as a woman often uncertain about her place in the world, maintaining her feminism while indulging in the attention of suitors and counting Norman Lindsay, Henry Lawson and J.K. Moir among her peers."

Females On The Fatal Shore by Susanna De Vries

"Follow the stories of 12 fearless women who inhabited Australia during its young years in Females On The Fatal Shore. Many of these incredible women had ideals far ahead of the constraints of their time period. For example, Fanny Macleay lacked a dowry and she lived in a time where marriage was a priority for women. Her mother encouraged her to marry “up”, but the witty and artistic Fanny had her own life plan. Discover the fascinating females behind some of Australia’s heritage houses and even the currency, like Mary Reibey, the woman on the Australian $20 note. Some of these stories mention places that are in existence today which adds extra interest to the tales of these strong women."

The Floating Brothel by Sian Rees

"Repackaged as a new edition, this critically acclaimed Australian bestseller recreates the riveting story of 200 female convicts bound for Botany Bay. The Lady Julian was described as a “floating brothel” by Lieutenant Riou, commander of the HMS Guardian, but the reality was more complex and interesting. In this book, author Siân Rees combines meticulous research with a vibrant narrative to tell the story of this late 18th century sea voyage to the colony of New South Wales. She also reveals the fate of many of Lady Julian’s ladies and crew.  Described by the Sunday Age as “thoroughly entertaining popular history”, The Floating Brothel is a passionate, diligently researched account."