What extremes of news and a feeling of bouncing from the public to the personal and back again. Still in deep shock from the rape and death of the woman in Delhi - will anything change? Are we really going to see attitudes shift in the acknowledgement of women;s rights and roles in all societies?
I remember so well when I was researching the material for my one woman show,'My Dear Emily: the story of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson', (First Lady Doctor in UK), the extraordinary prejudice in the media (cartoons in Punch), and the hostility of many lecturers and fellow male students. She was told of the 'horrors' of the dissecting room in an effort to dissuade her from continuing her studies. And accused of taking easier exams because she scored higher than the male medical students.
Professional women owe so much, to so many of the pioneers including Elizabeth Garrett, Emily Davies,
Sophie Jex-Blake and all the suffragettes. How much is being taught in schools to both boys and girls, and at what age? It should be starting in nursery school, but I suspect there are not the books - yet!
As we move into 2013 - can we carry a constant reminder that we need to acknowledge the heroic women who championed our causes in education, health and politics - within the last 150 years!
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