Fab Female Role Model No: 6 Tania Major

Winner of Young Australian of The Year Award 2007.
Tania Major came to public attention three years ago as the youngest person ever elected to ATSIC. She broke the ice of public discussion about a number of issues concerning the welfare of young Indigenous people when she was featured on national television programs such as Four Corners and 60 Minutes. She made some people feel very uncomfortable, and was happy to do so. She spoke directly and very publicly to the prime minister and other opinion leaders about the appalling secrets of domestic violence in her community in the belief that the best way to represent her people was to tell the truth. Tania is the only person within her community to complete a university degree; indeed, she's the only one to have successfully completed Year 12. Tania has become a role model not only for Indigenous youth, but also for all young Australian's.

Fab Female role Model No. 5: Melissa Davies

Melissa Davies, Foster Mum, Barnardos Mother of the Year 2005.

Melissa left school at 16 to care for her younger brother and sister, so her single mum could work two jobs. Even back then she was regarded as the “neighborhood mum” taking any child under her wing.

Now, as a single mum herself at 34 with two boys, Taylor (8) and Keaton (6) she is an inspiration to others. She became a family care officer to keep families together and, as a foster mum she has cared for numerous children and babies. One of the babies she had was a heroin addict and (despite the advice of doctors) managed to free him of his addiction and get him back with his mum. For the past couple of years, Melissa has cared for a 7 -year old girl who has been in more than 6 foster homes and her 4-year-old brain damaged brother. Melissa has learnt sign language to help him to communicate. The boy was recently in hospital for a serious heart operation and Melissa never left his side.

Somehow, she even finds time to renovate her home on the Gold Coast – painting, tiling, building fences and even hanging doors!

Melissa thanked her two sons for the support they give her to be a foster carer: “They not only have to share their toys, their space but they have to share their mum as well!”

Melissa’s sister Sarah describes Melissa as “a really wonderful person, really strong, very level headed and loves her kids to death.” “Even though she struggles both financially and physically she never complains. Despite her 4 am starts and late nights Melissa runs a beautiful and fun household. “I believe any child Melissa cares for will be touched for life.”

Melissa currently cares for her two boys and five long-term foster children who she hopes will be part of her family forever. The oldest child is 11 and youngest 2.

Note From Blogger

It's less than a week into the creation of this blog - and I have say to how humbled I feel after researching the lives of these amazing women. It really puts into perspective the nonsense that I worry about daily - what these ladies have achieved is just remarkable. I have just spent hours on the Women for Women site and most of it was in tears - we - all of us should be doing something to help our fellow human beings. I started this blog to inspire my daughter - and in the way of such things have found myself deeply moved and shamed by my lack of action - I have just watched Honarata's story and sponsored a women - $27 for goodness sake - I spend that on scrapbooking!! I hope that my readers in blogland feel as inspired as I do!

Fab Female Role Model No.4: Zainab Salbi

Zainab Salbi is anIraqi American Writer, Activist and Social Entrepreneur who is co-founder and president for Women for Women International.

Salbi was born in Baghad, Iraq, and came to the United States at the age of 19, her experience with the Iran-Iraq War sensitized her to the plight of women in war worldwide. She has written and spoken extensively on the use of rape and other forms of violence against women during war. Her work has been featured in major media outlets including The Oprah winfrey Show and the Washington Post. In 1995, President Bill Clinton honored Salbi at the White House for her humanitarian work in Bosnia.

In the early 1990s, newlyweds Zainab Salbi and Amjad Atallah, a Palestinian-American, were deeply moved by the plight of the women of the former Yugoslavia, many forced into the now infamous rape and concentration camps. They wanted to volunteer to help, but were unable to locate an organization that addressed these injustices and egregious wrongs.

In lieu of a honeymoon, Salbi and Atallah, launched an organization that created “sister-to-sister” connections between sponsors in the United States and women survivors of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were greeted with an overwhelming response; a woman survivor of the rape camps who had lost her husband and children during the war said, "I thought the world had forgotten us…."

They returned to the United States with a mission. With the continued support of other concerned individuals, they started Women for Women International with a shoestring budget and a small team of dedicated volunteers. Since 1993, Women for Women International has supported women survivors of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Kosovo, Nigeria, Colombia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan It has assisted more than 120,000 women, distributed more than $33 million in direct aid and microcredit loans, trained thousands of women in rights awareness, and helped thousands more to start their own small businesses.

In 2005, Zainab Salbi published her memoir Between Two Worlds. It describes her life growing up in Iraq under Saddam Hussein's Baathist Regime. Publishers Weekly calls Between Two Worlds "the most honest account of life within Saddam's circle so far. It's an enlightening revelation of how, by barely perceptible stages, decent people make accommodations in a horrific regime." Only 11 years old when her father was chosen to serve as Saddam Hussein's personal pilot, Zainab and her family were often forced to spend weekends with Saddam where he watched their every move. Her mother eventually sent Zainab to America for an arranged marriage, but the marriage that was intended to save her turned out to be another world of tyranny and abuse. Zainab started over. She forged a new identity as a champion of women survivors of war and founded Women for Women International.

In 2006, Zainab Salbi wrote The Other Side of War: Womens Stories of Survival and Hope. Published by National Geographic, Zainab Salbi takes readers into the heart of Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Sudan to hear the stories of women who daily reclaim the lives of their families and communities from the ashes of conflict.

"War is not a computer-generated missile striking a digital map. War is the color of earth as it explodes in our faces, the sound of child pleading, the smell of smoke and fear. Women survivors of war are not the single image portrayed on the television screen, but the glue that holds families and countries together. Perhaps by understanding women, and the other side of war...we will have more humility in our discussions of wars...perhaps it is time to listen to women's side of history."

Fab Female Role Model No. 3: Wangari Muta Maathai

Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya (Africa) in 1940. The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree. Wangari Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964). She subsequently earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966). She pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi where she also taught veterinary anatomy. She became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In both cases, she was the first woman to attain those positions in the region. Wangari Maathai was active in the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976-87 and was its chairman in 1981-87. It was while she served in the National Council of Women that she introduced the idea of planting trees with the people in 1976 and continued to develop it into a broad-based, grassroots organization whose main focus is the planting of trees with women groups in order to conserve the environment and improve their quality of life. However, through the Green Belt Movement she has assisted women in planting more than 20 million trees on their farms and on schools and church compounds.

In 1986, the Movement established a Pan African Green Belt Network and has exposed over 40 individuals from other African countries to the approach. Some of these individuals have established similar tree planting initiatives in their own countries or they use some of the Green Belt Movement methods to improve their efforts. So far some countries have successfully launched such initiatives in Africa (Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, etc). In September 1998, she launched a campaign of the Jubilee 2000 Coalition. She has embarked on new challenges, playing a leading global role as a co-chair of the Jubilee 2000 Africa Campaign, which seeks cancellation of the unpayable backlog debts of the poor countries in Africa by the year 2000. Her campaign against land grabbing and rapacious allocation of forests land has caught the limelight in the recent past.

Wangari Maathai is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. She has addressed the UN on several occasions and spoke on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly for the five-year review of the earth summit. She served on the commission for Global Governance and Commission on the Future. She and the Green Belt Movement have received numerous awards, most notably The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Others include The Sophie Prize (2004), The Petra Kelly Prize for Environment (2004), The Conservation Scientist Award (2004), J. Sterling Morton Award (2004), WANGO Environment Award (2003), Outstanding Vision and Commitment Award (2002), Excellence Award from the Kenyan Community Abroad (2001), Golden Ark Award (1994), Juliet Hollister Award (2001), Jane Adams Leadership Award (1993), Edinburgh Medal (1993), The Hunger Project's Africa Prize for Leadership (1991), Goldman Environmental Prize (1991), the Woman of the World (1989), Windstar Award for the Environment (1988), Better World Society Award (1986), Right Livelihood Award (1984) and the Woman of the Year Award (1983). Professor Maathai was also listed on UNEP's Global 500 Hall of Fame and named one of the 100 heroines of the world. In June 1997, Wangari was elected by Earth Times as one of 100 persons in the world who have made a difference in the environmental arena. Professor Maathai has also received honorary doctoral degrees from several institutions around the world: William's College, MA, USA (1990), Hobart & William Smith Colleges (1994), University of Norway (1997) and Yale University (2004).

The Green Belt Movement and Professor Wangari Maathai are featured in several publications including The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach (by Professor Wangari Maathai, 2002), Speak Truth to Power (Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, 2000), Women Pioneers for the Environment (Mary Joy Breton, 1998), Hopes Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, 2002), Una Sola Terra: Donna I Medi Ambient Despres de Rio (Brice Lalonde et al., 1998), Land Ist Leben (Bedrohte Volker, 1993).

Professor Maathai serves on the boards of several organizations including the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament, The Jane Goodall Institute, Women and Environment Development Organization (WEDO), World Learning for International Development, Green Cross International, Environment Liaison Center International, the WorldWIDE Network of Women in Environmental Work and National Council of Women of Kenya.

In December 2002, Professor Maathai was elected to parliament with an overwhelming 98% of the vote. She was subsequently appointed by the president, as Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife in Kenya's ninth parliament.

Fab Female Role Model: No. 2: Dr. Fiona Wood

Western Australia's only female plastic surgeon is a mother of six, Head of Royal Perth Hospital's Burns Unit and Director of the Western Australia Burns Service. She is also co-founder of Clinical Cell Culture, a private company recognised in medical circles for its world-leading research and breakthroughs in the treatment of burns.

In addition, Dr Fiona Wood is also a Clinical Professor with the School of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Western Australia and Director of the McComb Research Foundation.

She has become world renowned for her patented invention of spray on skin for burns victims, a treatment which is continually developing. Where previous techniques of skin culturing required 21 days to produce enough cells to cover major burns, Fiona has reduced that period to five days.

Via her research, Fiona found that scarring is greatly reduced if replacement skin could be provided within 10 days. As a burns specialist the holy grail for Dr Fiona Wood is 'scarless woundless healing'.

A graduate of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London, Fiona worked at a major British hospital before marrying Western Australian born surgeon Tony Keirath and migrating to Perth with their first two children in 1987. She completed her training in plastic surgery between having four more children.

In October 2002, Fiona was propelled into the media spotlight when the largest proportion of survivors from the Bali bombings arrived at Royal Perth Hospital. She led a courageous and committed team in the fight to save 28 patients suffering from between two and 92 per cent body burns, deadly infections and delayed shock.

Her exceptional leadership and surgical skills and the fact that she had the vision to plan for a large-scale disaster five years before the Bali tragedy, brought world-wide praise and recognition to the Royal Perth Hospital Burns Unit and highlighted the ground breaking research into burns treatment taking place in Western Australia.

Although Fiona came into the public eye following Bali, she has been well known and respected in her field of burns internationally and locally for many years.

Her business, Clinical Cell Culture, came about after a schoolteacher arrived at Royal Perth Hospital in 1992 with petrol burns to 90% of his body. Fiona turned to the emerging US-invented technology of cultured skin to save his life, working nights in a laboratory borrowed from scientist Marie Stoner. A friendship developed, and the two women joined forces to explore tissue engineering. They moved from growing skin sheets to spraying skin cells; earning a world-wide reputation as pioneers in their field. The company started operating in 1993 and is now planning to release its technology globally to use the royalties to fund further burns research.

Through her enthusiasm, innovation and vision, Fiona has saved and improved countless people's lives and has inspired a nation.

Inaugural Fab Female Role Model: Eleanor Roosevelt

Also a First Lady - our inaugural FFRM is Eleanor Roosevelt. These are a few of her many quotes - and just a short story examplifying what a strong independent thinker she was - in a time when women really were supposed to be seen and not heard..

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

"Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one."

"Friendship with oneself is all important because without it one cannot be friends with anybody else in the world."

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”—Eleanor Roosevelt

February 26, 1939 -
Eleanor Roosevelt Resigns from the Daughters of the American Revolution

On February 26, 1939, Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution in support of African American opera singer Marian Anderson.

As a celebrated opera singer Marian Anderson was used to attracting public attention for her singing, but ironically it was her inability to sing that placed her at the center of great controversy and drew the attention of one of the most famous women of her time, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

During the 1930s, African American contralto Marian Anderson sang at Europe's most famous concert halls and met great success, but when she returned to the United States she encountered racism, discrimination, and segregation. In January 1939, Ms. Anderson wanted to give a performance at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., but was told by the manager that she could not use the hall because of a prior engagement. After her request for alternate performance dates was also refused, the reason for Ms. Anderson's dismisal was clear. Marian Anderson could not sing at Constitution Hall because the Hall's owners - the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) - had a policy to not allow African American performers on the stage.

Many people spoke out against the Daughters of the American Revolution's policy, but the civil rights issue soon took on national importance; the D.A.R. had one member that was not willing to sit idly by as the organization discriminated against Marian Anderson, and that was Eleanor Roosevelt. From the beginning, there was no question whose side Mrs. Roosevelt was on; a champion of civil rights, Eleanor Roosevelt welcomed both blacks and whites at the White House, and even invited Marian Anderson to perform there in 1936. However, as the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt was aware her actions could anger some of her husband's southern political supporters, but in the end Mrs. Roosevelt put politics aside and followed her conscience. On February 26, 1939, Eleanor Roosevelt sent a letter to the Chairwoman of the Daughters of the American Revolution announcing her resignation. Mrs. Roosevelt's resignation and commentary on social justice published in her weekly "My Day" column THE NEXT DAY BROUGHT NATIONAL ATTENTION to the issue of civil rights.

Marian Anderson did not sing at Constitution Hall in 1939. Instead, thanks to the support of the Roosevelt administration, Ms. Anderson gave a concert on April 9, 1939, Easter Day, at the base of the Lincoln Memorial and the concert was broadcast across the country. That day Marian Anderson's voice was not confined by the segregationist policy of the Daughters of the American Revolution but instead reached into THE HOMES OF AMERICANS THROUGHOUT THE NATION.

February 26, 1939.

My dear Mrs. Henry M. Robert, Jr.:

I am afraid that I have never been a very useful member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, so I know it will make very little difference to you whether I resign, or whether I continue to be a member of your organization.

However, I am in complete disagreement with the attitude taken in refusing Constitution Hall to a great artist. You have set an example which seems to me unfortunate, and I feel obliged to send in to you my resignation. You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way and it seems to me that your organization has failed.

I realize that many people will not agree with me, but feeling as I do this seems to me the only proper procedure to follow.

Very sincerely yours,

Eleanor Roosevelt