A group of 29 single working-class mothers-who'd been evicted from the local mother-and-baby hostel after its funding was cut, and then encouraged to move miles away to places like Birmingham and Hastings-occupied vacant East London flats in September in protest at Newham Council's plans to demolish a housing estate, in a campaign that has come to be seen as illustrating London's housing crisis in microcosm. The occupation of the Carpenters estate in Stratford, East London, showed the true worth of grassroots protest. SOME MOMS FROM EAST LONDON TORE THE POLITICAL ELITE A NEW ONE
The lesson here, as with Malala, is that neither youth or gender are a barrier to successful campaigning. The subject was lifted from the shadows and into public discourse.
Under the increasing public pressure generated by Mohamed, Gove-who, when under pressure, always wears the look of a graying PE teacher spying a scuffle on the basketball court-eventually met her and her fellow campaigners from Integrate Bristol and did what she wanted. Within just three weeks, her petition had more than 230,000 signatures and was publicly supported by Yousafzai and Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general. The face of the campaign was 17-year-old Fahma Mohamed. In February, the Guardian launched their EndFGM campaign, calling on then education secretary Michael Gove to write to all teachers in England and Wales warning them of the dangers of female genital mutilation. Progress, then, if not radical overhaul.ĪN ENGLISH SCHOOLGIRL BULLIED MICHAEL GOVE INTO INCREASING AWARENESS OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IN SCHOOLS This includes the youngest woman ever elected (30-year-old Elise Stefanik) and female politicians who talk openly about having abortions-making female reproductive rights a central issue across several states. The 114th Congress will see 100 women serving-a landmark in US politics. THERE'S OVER 100 WOMEN IN US CONGRESS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVERĪfter the news that Maryland and Massachusetts had both elected Republican governors in the 2014 midterms, liberal analysts labelled the midterms as " shellacking, the sequel." But while the Democrats may have taken a hit, women from both sides were victorious. Her response to journalists on the day? That it wouldn't "help with exams" and that she needed to get back to her chemistry class. On the downside, she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman on her school bus-but more positively, she became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her continued campaigning for better education for women and girls across the world. Since then, she's experienced highs and lows.
It's only been five years since the Pakistani schoolgirl's anonymous diary about life under the Taliban ruling in northwest Pakistan first captured the public's imagination. Here are some of last year's standout moments.ġ7-year-old Malala Yousafzai has shown the world the violence that women can face if they assert their human right to be educated, but also the power of dedicated, defiant activism. There are 22 female world leaders currently in power. There have been some great moments for women in 2014 and it's important that we remember them, even when-especially when-it feels like we're constantly skidding along a dog shit–covered pavement.