WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

The year 2010 will be the 30th anniversary of the National Women's History Project (NWHP). When this organization began mobilizing the lobbying effort that resulted in President Carter issuing a Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980 as the first National Women's History Week, they had no idea what the future would bring. And then, in 1987, another successful lobbying effort by NWHP resulted in Congress expanding the week into a month, and March is now National Women's History Month.

The theme for Women's History Month 2010 selected by the NWHP is Writing Women Back into History. It often seems that the history of women is written in invisible ink. Even when recognized in their own times, women are frequently left out of the history books. To honor the 2010 theme, NWHP is highlighting pivotal themes from previous years. Each of these past themes recognizes a different aspect of women's achievements, from ecology to art, and from sports to politics. NWHP is honoring all past honorees from 1984 (first year honorees were selected) to 2009, an impressive list. To read about the honorees visit http://www.nwhp.org/whm/honorees.php.

Since 1993, the Lansdale AAUW branch has assisted local schools in celebrating National Women's History Month by donating materials to be displayed and utilized during March to raise student's awareness of women's contributions to history and their communities. Materials provided to date have totaled over $5,450. For 2010, the Lansdale AAUW is donating the following books to the North Penn District schools:

A.M. Kulp, Bridle Path, General Nash, Gwyn Nor, Gwynedd Square, Hatfield, Inglewood, Knapp, Montgomery, North Wales, Oak Park, Walton Farm and York Avenue Elementary Schools - Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan - This story written by Jeanette Winter, begins with an author's note that succinctly explains the drastic changes that occurred when the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 1996. The focus is primarily on the regime's impact on women, who were no longer allowed to attend school or leave home without a male chaperone. After Nasreen's parents disappeared, the child neither spoke nor smiled. Her grandmother, the story's narrator, took her to a secret school, where she slowly discovered a world of art, literature, and history obscured by the harsh prohibitions of the Taliban. This is an important book that makes events in a faraway place immediate and real. - Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Pennbrook, Penndale and Pennfield Middle Schools - Profiles in Mathematics: Sophie Germain by Stephen Ornes - Sophie Germain lived in a time when no one thought women were capable of a true understanding of higher math. In this book we learn of the difficulties she faced as a female mathematician and of the influence she had in the field. Because women were discouraged from scientific interests, she was forced to teach herself calculus and related fields. So she was often handicapped by the lack of formal training. This did not stop her from pursuit of the prix extraordinaire, a prize sometimes given by the French Academy of Sciences for great accomplishments. Her work helped advance the idea of elasticity, which makes large buildings possible, including the Eiffel Tower. She also worked on a famous problem called "Fermat's Last Theorem." However, she never felt a part of the inner circle of mathematicians. Reviewer: Sue Poduska
North Penn High School - Women Making America by Heidi Hemming and Julia Hemming Savage - Experience the everyday struggles, delights, and courage of America's women from the Revolutionary War to the present in a format that all readers can enjoy. Historian Sally Roesch Wagner says, 'This is the book I've been waiting for. Full of rich and well-researched detail, it is a breathtaking swoop of everything from popular culture to suffrage, distilling complex material down to easy to understand information, and full of engagingly good anecdotes. Most importantly, it is not the typical narrow-focused history of white women of means, but the multifaceted story of the diversity of histories that speaks to all women of the United States.

Celebrate Women Throughout the Year!

February 3, 2010 - National Girls and Women Sports Day www.WomensSportsFoundation.org
March 8, 2010 - International Women’s Day www.InternationalWomensDay.com
April 22, 2010 - Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day www.DaughtersAndSonsToWork.org
April 20, 2010 - Equal Pay Day www.Pay-Equity.org
May 9, 2010 - Mother's Day
July 19 and 20, 1848 - First Women's Rights Conference www.npg.si.edu/col/seneca/senfalls1.htm
August 26, 2010 - Women’s Equality Day - (Anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment in 1920 giving women the right to vote) www.nwhp.org/resourcecenter/equalityday.php

International Women’s Day - March 8^th

The United Nation's theme for International Women's Day 2010 is: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all.

International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.

In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day on 8 March. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. In adopting its resolution, the General Assembly recognized the role of women in peace efforts and development and urged an end to discrimination and an increase of support for women's full and equal participation.

Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of the UN's efforts to address social, economic and political challenges across the globe. For additional information go to www.InternationalWomensDay.com

List of donation selections from this and previous years and other strong female books:
Purchases from Amazon via these links benefit AAUW.

Title	Author	Description
Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan	Jeanette Winter	Ages 9-12
Profiles in Mathematics: Sophie Germain	Stephen Ornes	Ages 9-12
Women Making America	Heidi Hemming and Julie Savage
I'll Pass For Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War	Anita Silvey	This compelling book spotlights Union and Confederate women who fought on the battlefields.
Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America	Charlotte S. Waisman and Jill S. Tietjen	A vivid documentation of the breadth and diversity of American women's achievements throughout U.S. history.
Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq	Kirsten Holmstedt	Band of Sisters presents a dozen groundbreaking and often heart-wrenching stories of American women in combat in Iraq
What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove her Father Teddy Crazy!	Barbara Kerley	A beautifully illustrated book about Theodore Roosevelt’s irrepressible oldest child. It outlines Alice Roosevelt’s childhood and her outrageous hijinks as a tomboy, as well as the loving relationship she enjoyed with her renowned father. Prose and pictures spring across the pages to celebrate a maverick American heroine.
Ladies First: 40 Daring American Women Who Were Second to None	Elizabeth Cody Kimmel	Ladies First introduces young readers to 40 American women of achievement who were first in their field. A full-page portrait begins each informative three-page profile. The life stories of these women are as inspiring as they are diverse.
Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History	Laurel Thatcher Ulrich	Ulrich focuses on three accomplished women who did not behave according to the standards of their times - Christine de Pizan, a fourteenth century author, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and twentieth century novelist Virginia Woolf. They worked in entirely different settings; however, they disturbingly encountered the same problems facing women.
Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor	Emily Arnold McCully	The story of the first woman to receive a U.S. patent for designing a machine to make flat-bottomed, paper bags.
Factory Girl	Barbara Greenwood	A recreation of the life of working children in North American cities in the early part of the twentieth century and the impact that one girl can make.
Madame Secretary: A Memoir	Madeleine Albright	The memoirs of Madeleine Albright, the highest ranking woman in the history of U.S. government. During the eight years of the Clinton administration, Albright served as U.N. ambassador and then as Secretary of State.
Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers	Sybil E. Hatch	Celebrates the contributions of women engineers to every aspect of modern life.
A is for Abigail	Lynne Cheney
In Her Footsteps: 101 Remarkable Black Women from the Queen of Sheba to Queen Latifah	Annette Madden
100 Women Who Shaped World History	Gail Meyer Rolka
Young Women of Achievement: A Resource for Girls in Science, Math and Technology	Frances A. Karnes and Kristen R. Stephens
The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History	edited by Wilma Mankiller, Gwendolyn Mink, Marysa Navarro, Barbara Smith, and Gloria Steinem
Remember the Ladies	Cheryl Harness	A beautiful timeline of 100 famous women who made important contributions to this country since its founding. Includes Alice Paul, Grace Hopper, Mary McLeod Bethune, and others girls may not know.Ages 6 - 14.
Madame President	Catherine Thimmish	An awesome new book in which a girl decides she wants to be President and is encouraged instead to be a senator, a president's wife,etc For each suggestion, it tells about women from history. Guess who doesn't give up her dream?! Ages 8 - 14.
Girl's Guide to Life	Catherine Dee	An indispensable manual for girls from 10 to 14.Fun,easy-to-read advice on everything from the media to sports to the beauty myth.
Best of Girls to the Rescue	Bruce Lansky	Fabulous collection of 26 fairy tales and folk tales from around the world where GIRLS are the heroes! Third grade reading level chapter book, good for ages 6 to 12.
I Like Me	Nancy Carlson	Simple, but powerful, self esteem book about a pig who likes herself and takes charge of her life. Ages 2 - 6.
Stephanie's Ponytail	Robert Munsch	Stephanie wears her hair the way she wants to, despite peer pressure.Very funny. Ages 4 - 8.
Cinder Edna	Ellen Jackson	Cinder Edna has the same things happen to her as the helpless Cinderella, but she takes charge of her life! Ages 4 - 8.