Middle East | Saudi Arabia | Culture

A year on the road: how life has changed for Saudi women since taking the wheel

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Ammal Farahat has been driving in Saudi Arabia for a year. To celebrate, she’s finally registering her car under her own name. She bought her VW Passat five years ago, but had relinquished control of it to her drivers – until now. A year on from the historic decision to lift the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, thousands of women across the kingdom have spent 12 months leading a freer existence. The move came as part of a series of reforms implemented by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since he assumed the role of heir apparent last year. It comes as part of a larger pla
Europe | U.K. | History

A 92-year-old World War II fighter pilot flies her plane for the first time in 70 years

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It's been decades since her last flight, but Joy Lofthouse, a 92-year-old Air Transport Auxiliary veteran, was given the chance to board a Spitfire airplane for one more trip. Lofthouse was one of just a few female pilots to fly for the British during World War II, part of an all-female division nicknamed the "Attagirls." Her job as a service pilot was to shuttle planes from the front lines back to factories for repairs. During her time in the service, she flew 18 different aircraft, but one always held a special place in her heart.
North America | United States | History

Delta’s first female pilot inspiring girls to fly

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On Saturday, Delta’s first female pilot, retired Captain Joy Walker, will take to the skies again to mark another “first” in the airline’s history book. She, along with more than 130 girls ages 12-18, will board a Boeing 737-800 and fly from Minneapolis to Seattle to celebrate the first National Girls in Aviation Day. From charter planning to catering, meteorology to dispatching, every detail of the flight is being supported by women aviation professionals. In the air and on the ground in Seattle, the girls will spend the day with Walker and other Delta employees learning abou
North America | United States | History

America’s First Woman Astronomer – Maria Mitchell

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As a young girl Maria and her father studied the stars together using his telescope. At age 12 she helped her father calculate the timing of an eclipse and by age 14 local sailors asked her to perform their navigational computations in preparation for whaling voyages. In 1847 William Mitchell was cashier at Pacific National Bank on Main Street and his family lived on the top floor of the bank. Maria and William often spent evenings on the roof sweeping” the sky with their telescope and looking at the stars. On October 1 of that year Maria was stargazing alone on the roof when she spotted an
International | History

French Teen Melissa Mayeux Becomes First Female International Player Eligible For MLB Signing

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A French teen made history this past weekend as she became the first female international player eligible to be signed by Major League Baseball. Melissa Mayeux was added to the league's international registration list on Sunday, making her eligible to be picked up when the international signing period opens on July 2. The 16-year-old is a shortstop and currently plays for the French U-18 junior national team.
International | History

The Contributions of Women Philosophers Recovered by the New Project Vox Website

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Project Vox seeks to recover the lost voices of women who have been ignored in standard narratives of the history of modern philosophy. We aim to change those narratives, thereby changing what students around the world learn about philosophy’s history. Lady Damaris Masham (1658-1708), Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673), Viscountess Anne Conway (1631-1679), and Émilie Du Châtelet were highly thought of in their day, and praised by male contemporaries including John Locke. Project Vox resurrects their overlooked-to-the-point-of-undiscovered contributions by publishing their long out o
Asia | China | Culture

5 Other Kickass Chinese Women Warriors Besides Mulan

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Who isn’t excited about Disney’s plan to make a live-action Mulan film? While discussing my excitement with a friend, she addressed a major point I was overlooking. Yes, the tale of Mulan is legendary for numerous reasons, but Mulan is popular in China not because she was a woman who fought. You see, there were plenty of fighting females in China and plenty of famous Chinese female warriors. Instead, the reason why Mulan is famous is because she was willing to go in place of her father, risking her life and reputation. Having been unaware that there were other historical “fighti