HER STORY

It is often said that history is written by the victors, and the losers’ point of view is often neglected and forgotten. The same often applies to the role of women in history as they are often relegated to the position of “a famous man’s wife” and their contribution is frequently overlooked.

So given that March 8th corresponds to International Women’s Day, I’m trying to make a minor contribution to turning the spotlight on to some prominent women from the UK, Ireland and France with the following “Herstory Quiz”.

Indeed It may even be an idea to raise the whole issue of Human Rights since French is (probably) the only language to use the sexist expression “Droits de l’Homme” (derechos humanos in Spanish, drets humans in Catalan etc etc); the Belgians, French Canadians and members of Amnesty International use the expression “Droits Humains”.

And I think it's interesting to remember the early French feminist Olympe de Gouges who wrote “La Déclaration des Droits de la Femme et de la Citoyenne” just after the 1789 French revolution…but was guillotined and virtually forgotten from French history. And why not mention that Turkish women were given the right to vote before their counterparts here in France…

Olympe de Gouges...not forgotten

Enjoy the quiz...

1) Who lead the Iceni tribe in revolt against the Roman invaders in AD 60 – 61?

2) Which parent of the first king of Great Britain was also monarch of 2 countries?

3) Which former portraitist of Marie-Antoinette was admitted to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1783 … and is one of the few female artist to have her works on display in the Louvre?

Self portrait with daughter, 1786. On display in the Louvre

Self portrait with daughter, 1786. On display in the Louvre

4) Who wrote The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in 1791, and what happened to her?

5) Who was the “lady with the lamp?”

6) And who was the "angel of prisons"?

7) Who wrote “Frankenstein” in 1818?

8) How did the Sufragette Emily Davison die in 1913?

9) Who created a rabbit and was able to preserve part of the Lake District?

10) Who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976?

11) What was Moira Stewart the first to do in 1981?

12) Who was President of Ireland from 1990-1997?

13) What is the connection between the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971 and 2006?

14) When did Harry meet Joanne?

15) Who is the current Duke of Lancaster?

international women's day