Nell Mcafferty
ACTIVIST / JOURNALIST / PLAYWRIGHT
(1944 - present)
McCafferty is a civil rights campaigner and
feminist. She was one of the initial 12
members of the Irish women's liberation
movement, (IWLM) an alliance of a group of
Irish women who were concerned about the
sexism within Ireland both socially and legally.
They first began after a meeting in Dublin's
Bewley's Cafe on Grafton Street in 1970.
McCafferty was one of the lead activists on
the fight for contraception for Women in
Ireland. She helped orchestrate the famous
"contraception train" a women's rights
activism event which took place on 22 May
1971. Members of the (IWLM), in protest
against the law prohibiting the importation and
sale of contraceptives in the Republic of
Ireland, travelled to Belfast to purchase
contraceptives. This helped the legalisation of
contraception in Ireland in 1993.
Sarojini Naidu
POLITICAL ACTIVIST / POET (1879 - 1949)
An Indian political activist and poet. A
proponent of civil rights, women's
emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she
was an important figure in India's struggle for
independence from colonial rule she was a
major freedom fighter who went on becoming
the first Indian woman to be appointed the
president of the Indian National Congress and
the Governor of any state in India. Nicknamed
the "Nightingale of India" due to her music and
poetry, Naidu started college at the age of 12
and graduated by age 19. She also lectured
on issues surrounding emancipation, female
empowerment, and social welfare. With the
Indian Independence in 1947, Sarojini Naidu
was made the Governor of the Uttar Pradesh
in the wake of her contribution to the
movement.
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