Women of Courage

When I watched “60 Minutes” on TV last week, I was stunned by the story of Yulia Navalnaya, wife of the Russian dissident who recently died in a Russian prison. Andrei Navalny had defied Putin and fought for the Russian presidency but was put in prison. Yulia has been described in the media as the “first lady” of the Russian opposition. After her husband’s death, she declared that she would continue his work. She has his last notes from prison that she plans to publish. Last July she became the chair of the Human Rights Foundation. Moreover, she said, “I will be the next leader of Russia.”  She said it as if there were no doubt in her mind that she would replace Vladimar Putin who now                            has unlimited power and control. She wants to build a free Russia for her children and all who are committed to human rights and freedom.

Then I began thinking about strong women in U.S. history. Rosa Parks was the first woman that came to my mind. She was an American activist in the civil rights movement. She grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, where blacks had to sit in the back of the bus. One day she decided to sit in the “white” section and refused to give up her seat. She was arrested for violating Alabama’s segregation laws, but she inspired the black community to boycott city buses for over a year. Her act of defiance and the Montgomery bus boycott became important symbols of the civil rights movement.  

Another woman who came to my mind was the mother of Emmett Till. When a white woman accused the 14-year-old of flirting with her in a Mississippi store, her father was enraged. He got a group of men to abduct the boy and kill him. When the body was found in a ditch, his face was beyond recognition. The undertakers were going to have a closed casket, but Mrs. Till said she wanted it open so everyone could see what the white men had done to her son. The lynching of Emmett Hill in 1955 became another symbol of the growing civil rights movement.

And, of course, our Vice President Kamala Harris shows how far equal rights have come. To have a black woman run for president is certainly something all women can be proud of.  Harris has taken a lot of insults and attacks, but she remains strong and committed to achieving her goal.  It will be an uphill battle, but she will not be deterred.

We are blessed to have strong women like Yulia, Rose Parks, Mrs. Till, and Kamala Harris to stand up for human rights and equality. Women, especially women of color, have been treated as second class citizens for too long. They know they have equal rights and have role models to help bring about a new world order. They will no longer be treated as the “weaker sex.”  Yulia Navalny and Kamala Harris are exemplary heroines who may yet change the world.

Barbara Mayer, OSB