An Inspiring woman
On July 18th we commemorate the death of Lydia Becker, one of the leading pioneers of the British women’s suffrage movement.
Home educated, but intellectually gifted and interested in botany, Lydia Becker pursued self-guided study to a high level and even communicated with Darwin – contributing to his scientific work with her analysis of a dioecious form of the red campion flower. She won a gold medal for her scholarly work on horticulture and a national prize for her preservation process for retaining the color of dried flowers.
She resolved to overcome her lack of formal education – a drive that influenced her campaign for women’s rights to vote as well as other liberties. Lidya founded and published the well known Women’s Suffrage Journal from 1870-1890. She served on the Manchester School Board and became an advocate of non-gendered education system – believing there was no intellectual difference between men and women. She had differing views from some of her fellow activists – but put them aside in her own pursuit of common goals.
In our writings, we take inspiration from such women when creating our strong female characters. In Adam in Taoland, Tariana rose to the top and became CEO of Taoland Services for the Underprivileged, uniting all in breaking new ground at the largest not-for-profit in all of Taoland. In the sequel, Homeland Rescued, two strong female leaders, with very different views about governance, unite behind common goals to prevent a devastating war throughout the nation of Galtland, a secret valley protected from the prying eyes of artificial intelligence.
In our troubled world, it is essential for us to learn from such people and allow their spirits to influence our behaviors. As vastly different as we are in some ways, we share commonalities that make us the same overall. Let us put aside differences and join hands in improving our societies for the greater good. Only through our collective efforts can we achieve common goals and save our world from self-destruction.
