Biblioteca Digital Wesleyana - O mundo é a minha paróquia

Methodist women who made history in politics

Odilon Massolar Chaves

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Article 184 of the Penal Code and Law 96710 of February 19, 1998.

Books published in the Wesleyan Digital Library: 545

Books published by the author: 625

Booklets: 3

Translator: Google

All glory to God!

Cover: John Wesley preaching

Source: https://likumc.org/cp/?p=3865

Odilon Massolar Chaves is a retired Methodist pastor, with a doctorate in Theology and History from the Methodist University of São Paulo.

His thesis dealt with the Methodist revival in England in the eighteenth century and its contribution as a paradigm for our days.

He was editor of the official Methodist newspaper and coordinator of the Theology Course.

Copyright Statement: These files are in the public domain and are derived from an electronic edition that is available on the Ethereal Library of Christian Classics website.

Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

Table of Contents

- Nobel Peace Prize laureate and President of Liberia

- The Citizen of the World of Barbados

- Governor of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

- Leader of the Women's Association in Peru

- First lady and China's voice in the world

- Defender of domestic workers in Bolivia

- Governor and U.S. Representative to the UN

- Prime Minister of Bermuda

- First Lady and Secretary of State

- Queen Mother of Tonga

- The "Joan of Arc" who faced the Japanese in Korea

- The skittish girl who faced the dictatorship

- First woman to speak at the U.S. Capitol

- Black Freedom Mother in South Africa

- South Africa's highest award for its fight for democracy and nation-building

- National heroine of Barbados

- The Mother of Civil Rights in the USA

- The woman who gave rise to the expression "first lady"

- Preacher, doctor, and women's rights activist

- Korea's First Female Lawyer and Judge

- UN Award and First Lady of Mozambique and South Africa

Introduction

"Methodist Women Who Made History in Politics" is a book that tells the story of 21 women from 14 countries and an overseas territory who had an effective participation in the politics of their country.

Some reached the position of president, queen, prime minister, governor, etc. Others fought against oppression and dictatorship and still others had an effective participation leaving a legacy.

In time or out of time for the elections, it is essential to have these examples of women who made a difference, some paid with their lives.

All had ethical principles in their actions. From different parties or ideologies, but all thought about freedom, the good of the nation and the oppressed. An example in times of corruption.

May God enlighten you so that you may be edified and follow the example of love for freedom, fight for human rights and for the well-being of the population.

The Author

Nobel Peace Prize winner

and President of Liberia

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was born in Monrovia, Liberia, in 1938. Her grandfather was German and married a rural woman whose grandmothers were indigenous Liberians.

Ellen graduated from West Africa College, a college of The United Methodist Church. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin, USA.

She holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Colorado, USA, and a master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, USA.

In 1985, she was a candidate for the Senate and criticized the military regime, which earned her a ten-year prison sentence.

After spending time in prison, she lived in exile until 1997, when she returned to Liberia as an economist for the World Bank and Citibank in Africa. She was elected president of Liberia in 2005.

As a Methodist, he spoke at the 2008 United Methodist Church General Conference.

She fought against corruption and for deep institutional reforms in Liberia. She was re-elected president of Liberia in 2011. In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded her the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian decoration in the United States.

She is the mother of four children. She was the first woman to be elected head of state of an African country. She made girls' education a priority.

She created the Liberia Education Trust and an ambitious teacher training program. She won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on women's rights.

In recognition of the positive changes in her leadership, in 2018, she received the 2017 Ibrahim Award for Achievement in African Leadership.

She has been called "the iron lady of Liberia".^{^[1]}

The citizen of the world from Barbados

Ruth Nita Barrow (1916-1995) was born in St. Lucy, Barbados. Her father, Reginald Barrow, was an Anglican bishop. She attended the universities of Toronto and Edinburgh.

She was vice-president of the Methodist Conference of Churches in 1973 and became director of the Christian Medical Commission of the World Council of Churches in 1976.

He was a devoted member of the Methodist Church. He dedicated his life to improving adult education, poverty reduction, women's advancement, and health care.

In 1964, she became an advisor to the World Health Organization and then to the Pan American Health Organization. She was elected president of the YWCA (1975-1983), a women's movement working for global social and economic change.

In 1980, she received the highest honor in Barbados: she became Dame de St. Andrew of the Order of Barbados. She was president of the Executive Committee of the International Council for Adult Education (1983-1989). She was one of the seven presidents of the World Council of Churches (1983-1991). She chaired the Young Women's Christian Association and the Jamaica Nurses Association.

In 1985, she convened the non-governmental organization (NGO) Forum for the Decade of Women, in Nairobi, Kenya.

She was the only woman from the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group to go to South Africa to negotiate the end of apartheid and the release of Nelson Mandela.

She was ambassador to the UN (1986-1990) and the first and only female governor general of Barbados (1990-1995). She is described as a "citizen of the world". She has visited more than 80 countries.^{^[2]}

Governor of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Monica Jessie Dacon was born in 1934 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a country in the Lesser Antilles.

She was the first woman appointed Lieutenant Governor General and Governor General in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Monica Dacon attended The Girls' High School and Cambridge School Higher.

As a teacher, he taught in two schools in Trinidad and Tobago and, in 1966, at the College of Bishops, in St. Vincent, in Kingstown.

In 1980, she earned the certificate of St. Vincent's Teachers' College, and two years later the degree of Bachelor of Education from the University of the West Indies. She was a teacher at St. Vincent's Teacher Training College.

Monica served as principal of the College of Bishops for a few months before returning to Girls' High School, where she remained for nearly 15 years. Monica was always involved with the church and civic activities. She was a member of the Girls' Guide Association. She taught Sunday School for many years and helped with the school curriculum of the Methodist Church.

In 2001, she was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Resource Service. In the same year, she was appointed Deputy Governor General, and in 2002 Governor General. Monica was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2010.

She was the first woman to be decorated Vincentian, having always performed her duties with grace and dignity.^{^[3]}

Leader of the Women's Association in Peru

Maria Sumire was born in 1951 in Peru. She grew up in the community of Collachapi. As a lawyer, she supported the Departmental Federation of Peasants of Cusco in its struggles for land and women's organizations.

Maria is a member of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Peru, leader of the Andean Women's Association (AMA) and was one of thousands of candidates for the Nobel Prize in 2005.

She was elected to the Congress of Peru, where she served between 2006 and 2011. She did not want to run again.

He took his oath in Quechua, his mother tongue, the language of the indigenous majorities of Cusco and Peru. He raised his hands and invoked the gestures of Túpac-Amaru and Micaela Bastidas, martyrs of the Andean struggles against the Spanish and Inca oppressors.

He remembered his father, Eduardo Sumire, a union leader, and declared his evangelical Methodist faith.

Maria Sumire's challenge as a Quechua Christian is to continue working for the rights of her people and for the people who have been forgotten and marginalized, as farmers like her have the right to health, education and work.

In her parliamentary work, Maria fought for farmers. She is the author of the Language Law passed in 2011, the first law for the defense of linguistic rights in Peru's republican history.

Maria Sumire was recognized as a Meritorious Personality for her contribution to culture by the Ministry of Culture of Peru.^{^[4]}

First lady and China's voice in the world

Soong May-ling (1898-2003) was born in Hongkou, Shanghai, China. His father, Charles Soong, studied in the USA and converted. He graduated in Theology and was a Methodist minister, millionaire businessman and a revolutionary in China.

Soong May-ling married Chiang Kai-shek, who became a generalissimo in the Chinese Nationalist army, and became Madame Chiang Kai-shek. In Shanghai, May-ling attended the McTyeire School for Girls. She studied at Wesleyan College in the USA and Wellesley College, where she graduated in 1917.

In 1920, she met Chiang Kai-shek, but her mother was against the marriage and only agreed after Chiang showed proof of her divorce and promised to convert to Christianity.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek attracted much attention in America for her beauty and courage. She participated widely in Chinese politics. She was one of the most politically important women in the world. She became her husband's spokesperson and China's voice in the rest of the world, charming the American public with her English.

He went on a crusade to help China. He spoke before the United States Congress (1943) to garner support for China's struggle against Japan.

After the defeat in the Chinese civil war in 1949, she went with her husband to Taiwan. After her husband's death, she moved to New York.

She died at the age of 106. She was one of the most influential women of the 20th century, having been on the cover of Time magazine. The creation of the Soong May-ling Fund marked the 25th anniversary of Madame Chiang's graduation in 1942.^{^[5]}

Defender of domestic workers in Bolivia

Casimira Rodriguez Romero was born into a poor family in 1966, Mizque province, San Vicentena community, Bolivia. She entered the struggle for survival at an early age. "We were a poor family, three brothers and three sisters. I remember my mother, who raised us with love," she said.

7At the age of 13, he went to work in a house in exchange for room and food, but without pay, the first injustice he suffered.

In 1992, she met Jesus Christ as her Savior.In 1996, she assumed the position of executive secretary of the union and coordinated the organization of the work of several departments in Bolivia.

She helped found the Union of Domestic Workers. She won the World Methodist Peace Prize in 2003. She was appointed Minister of Justice of Bolivia (2006-2007).

She was the first indigenous woman to serve as a government minister.

She said that before she was a minister of a political group, she wanted to be a minister of the Lord. She said, "I came from a Methodist community, and I did not fail to attend it every Sunday when it was possible."

She added: "Being a minister was like being in a golden cage: many policemen, security forces, many people around, as if to protect the queen."

In 2015, she was appointed Departmental Secretary for Integral Human Development of the Autonomous Departmental Government of Cochabamba.

Her fight to defend women's rights remains intense. She works with domestic workers and is forming a foundation whose objective is to fight for the human rights of Bolivian women.^{^[6]}

Governor and U.S. Representative to the UN

Nimrata "Nikki" Haley was born in 1972, in Bamberg, South Carolina, USA, She is from an Indian family of the Sikh religion. Her parents are immigrants from India. At the age of 12, Nikki (little) started helping with bookkeeping at her mother's women's clothing store. Haley graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor's degree in Accounting.

In 1996, she married Michael Haley in a Methodist ceremony. She attends Mount Horeb United Methodist Church in Lexington, South Carolina. The couple has two children, who were baptized and regularly attend the Methodist Church.

In 1998, she was appointed to the board of directors of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce, and in 2003, to the board of directors of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce. She became treasurer of the National Association of Business Women and president in 2004.

She is the chapter president of the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs of South Carolina.

In 2004, Haley won the House of Representatives for the district in Lexington County.

She became the first Asian-American of Indian origin to hold office in South Carolina. In 2006 and 2008, she was re-elected.

In 2010, she ran for and won as governor of South Carolina. She was the first female governor of South Carolina. In 2014, she was re-elected.

As a teenager, Haley converted to Jesus in the Methodist Church.

Of her faith, she said, "I believe in the power and grace of Almighty God. I know, and have truly experienced, that with him all things are possible. I have looked to him for leadership throughout my career and will continue to do so as governor."

In 2015, she received an honorary doctorate in Public Service at the University of South Carolina.

In 2016, she was named among "The 100 Most Influential People" by Time magazine.

President Trump nominated her and the Senate approved in 2017 for Haley to be the U.S. permanent representative to the UN. Voluntarily, she later left office.^{^[7]}

Prime Minister of Bermuda

Pamela Gordon was born in 1955 in Hamilton, Bermuda. She was the daughter of Mildred Layne Bean and Dr. E. F. Gordon, a Labor leader and member of parliament from Bermuda in the 1940s and early 1950s. E. F. Gordon fought against racial segregation and for improved conditions for the working class.

Pamela attended Central School and the Berkeley Institute, but left school at the age of 16 when she became pregnant with Ronald Furbert. She gave birth to daughter Veronica and returned to her studies at another institution.

Pamela's mother helped her care for the baby while she attended college in Ontario, Canada. When she returned to Bermuda, she married Ronald Furbert. They had a son, Ronald, and later divorced.

She joined the United Party of Bermuda and in 1990 was elected to the Senate. In 1992, she was appointed as Minister of Youth Development. She was also Minister of Environment, Planning and Recreation in the cabinet of Prime Minister David J. Saul.

In 1993, Gordon was elected as the representative for Southampton. In 1997, she was unanimously chosen to be the party leader. She was sworn in as Prime Minister by Governor Waddington in 1997. Pamela Gordon faced the British government and the colonial masters of Bermuda.

Of Catholic origin, she became a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and was the first woman and the youngest person, at the age of 41, to hold the position of premier (prime minister) in Bermuda (1997-1998).

She is known as sweet and passionate about her ideas. She was honored as a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth. In 2013, she received an honorary degree* from Queen's University in Canada.^{^[8]}

First Lady and Secretary of State

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton was born in Chicago, USA, in 1947. Her mother, Dorothy Rodham, was a Sunday School teacher at the Methodist Church and took her to church on Sundays.

At age 13, Clinton became a member of The United Methodist Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. She received a bachelor's degree in political science from Wellesley College in 1969 and received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1973.

In 1977, she participated in the founding of the Advocates for Children and Families of Arkansas. In 2000, Hillary made history as the first lady elected to the U.S. Senate and as the first woman elected to the Senate from the State of New York.

She was the 67th U.S. Secretary of State under President Obama; the first lady and wife of former President Clinton. In 1996, she spoke at the Methodist General Conference asking the Church to care for children. As Secretary of State and First Lady, she attended The United Methodist Church in Washington. Her favorite passage: "faith without works is dead."

At a Methodist convention in 2014, he recalled his father praying on his knees by the bed every night and quoted Wesley's verses about "Always do all the good you can."

In 2012, Forbes magazine chose her as the most powerful mother in the world. In April 2014, she spoke to 7,000 Methodists at The United Methodist Church's Women's Assembly at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

On another occasion, reflecting on her emphasis on social justice in her profession, she said that being a Methodist is fundamental to her identity. She was a candidate for the U.S. presidency in 2016.^{^[9]}

Queen Mother of Tonga

Halaevalu Mata'aho'Ahome'e (1926-2017) was born in Tonga. She is the eldest daughter of "Ahome'e and Heu'ifanga, great-granddaughter of the last king of the Tu'i Empire of Tonga.

She married Taufa'ahau Tupou IV on June 10, 1947, and died in 2006.

She was the mother of five children, including the late King George Tupou V. She has been president of the Tonga Red Cross Society since 1972. Her titles include: The Honorable Halaevalu Mata'aho'Ahome'e (1926-1947); Her Royal Highness Princess Halaevalu Mata'aho, The Princess Royal of Tonga (1947-1965); Her Majesty Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho, The Queen of Tonga (1965-2006) and Her Majesty Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho, The Queen Mother of Tonga (since 2006).

The Queen wrote to the Upper Room at the 2005 Pentecost celebration and said: "The 'Pentecost of Tonga' has transformed our land into a Christian nation, we have become a missionary people and we have shared the good news of Jesus Christ with our neighbours on the island."

In 2011, the Queen celebrated her 85th birthday with a five-day celebration. The celebrations began with one hundred Tongan women at the home of Rev. Dr. 'Aiô, president of the Tonga Free Wesleyan Church. This was followed by a service at the Centennial Church and a royal luncheon at the Royal Palace in Nuku'alofa.

On her 90th birthday, on 27 May 2016, the government paid tribute to the Queen through Prime Minister Hon. Samuela 'Akilisi Pohiva and cabinet ministers. She made numerous contributions "to the development of the Kingdom of Tonga in education, health, people with special needs, older people, women's empowerment and charitable organizations". It was further said of her wisdom, faith, compassion, commitment to charity and love for the people of Tonga.^{^[10]}

The "Joan of Arc" who faced the Japanese in Korea

Ryu Gwansun (1902-1920) was born in Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea. She was the daughter of Ryu Jung-gwon and Yi So-je. In 1919, she was a student at Ewha Woman's School in Seoul. The school was founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton, a Methodist missionary from the USA. Her teacher Alice Sharp was a missionary.

Gwansun entered Ewha Womans School on a student scholarship and became known for organizing the March 1st Movement against Japanese colonial rule in South Korea. Their deep faith in God and the teachings of the Ewha Womans Methodist school gave them the courage to act.

She returned to her home in Jiryeong-ri when the Japanese government closed all Korean schools. Together with her family, she began to arouse public feelings against the Japanese occupation.

She visited churches explaining the conditions of the demonstrations that would take place in Seoul. Both of her parents were shot dead by the Japanese police. She was arrested and tortured. She was sentenced to five years in prison. During the trial, she protested against the unjust Japanese colonial administration and the law of the governor-general of Korea. Gwansun died in prison on September 28, 1920.

His final words were: "Even if my nails are torn out, my nose and ears are torn off, and my legs and arms are crushed, this physical pain does not compare to the pain of losing my nation. My only regret is not being able to do more than dedicate my life to my country."

The Japanese did not want to release her body, but Lulu Frey and Jeannette Walter, directors of Ewha Womans School, threatened to disclose the cause of her death.

On October 14, 1920 her funeral was held at the Church in Jung-dong by Minister Kim Jong-wu. Gwansun has been called the Joan of Arc of Korea.

She was awarded the Order of Merit of Independence in 1962. It is a symbol of Korea's struggle for independence through peaceful protest.^{^[11]}

The skittish girl who faced the dictatorship

Heleny Ferreira Telles Guariba (1941-1971) was born in Bebedouro, São Paulo. Daughter of Isaac Ferreira Caetano and Pascoalina Ferreira. She was orphaned at the age of two. As a teenager, she taught children and young people at the Sunday School of the Central Methodist Church in São Paulo. She wrote articles for young Methodists in the magazine Cruz de Malta.

Heleny had two children in her marriage to university professor Ulisses Telles Guariba. She was a civil servant at the São Paulo Board of Trade and worked as a teacher in a pre-university course.

She graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at USP. In 1965 she won a scholarship and went to Germany to study theater, politics and the arts.

In France, she did her doctorate. In Brazil, she used theater as an instrument of political transformation and freedom. She taught at the School of Dramatic Arts of USP. In Santo André, 1968, she founded the group Teatro da Cidade formed mostly by workers. She wrote several articles in newspapers in the 60s provoking the anger of the dictatorship.

She was arrested in 1970 and tortured by the Dops. She was released in 1971 and when she was preparing to leave the country she was arrested again. Witnesses claim that she was murdered in the "House of Death" of the dictatorship, in Petrópolis. She entered the list of "disappeared".

Frei Betto, in a letter sent to Heleny, said: "Small, risky, you have always seemed to me a very beautiful person, of that beauty that comes from the inside out, rooted in the agile spirit, which preserves, in the body, the way of a girl. Even in prison, her joy was contagious. I keep from you the last time I saw her. It was her birthday and her children brought a cake with candles and a present. When you undid the pink satin ribbon and colored paper, you saw what it was and thought it was very funny, you started to show it to everyone, to kiss the children (...),".

He had an intense way of life. His name was given to a cultural center in Diadema and to the Studio Heleny Guariba Theater, SP. He is an example of courage and perseverance.^{^[12]}

First woman to speak at the U.S. Capitol

Dorothy Ripley (1767-1832) was born in Whitby, Yorkshire, England. Her father faced poverty. He was a master mason and a Methodist preacher who accompanied Wesley and built the first Methodist Church in Whithy. Dorothy met Wesley and his preachers at her father's home.

In 1797, she had a strong spiritual experience and felt that God had commanded her to leave her home in England and travel to the U.S. on a mission to help African slaves. She walked to London, where she was able to board.

In 1802, she traveled to Washington to speak with President Jefferson, especially about his desire to help slave women and challenged him to have compassion on his 300 slaves. This fact opened the door to being the first woman to speak, on January 12, 1806, in the House of Representatives, in the presence of President Thomas Jefferson. She made her base in Charleston, the stronghold of American slavery in the South.

His Wesleyan theology is revealed in his preaching of social justice, the doctrine of atonement that assumes universal salvation, the guarantee of our salvation, and Wesley's doctrine of holiness. He proclaimed "the joyful announcement of salvation" to Ethiopian children and was involved in prison reform.

She met with Thomas Jefferson, president of the United States, preached in several churches, and wrote several books. On January 12, 1806, she became the first woman to preach on the U.S. Capitol. She also fought against the immorality of the death penalty. In 1818, she opened the first Methodist chapel in Bingham County in Nottinghamshire. She was arrested on charges of inciting montins.

Dorothy was a woman of prayer, preacher, writer, and missionary who spent 30 years in the U.S. and crossed the Atlantic Ocean nine times seeking to improve the lives of slaves. She preached in several churches and wrote several books.^{^[13]}

Black Freedom Mother in South Africa

Charlotte Maxeke (1874-1939) was born in Ramokgopa, Polokwane, South Africa. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father a foreman and a lay preacher in the Presbyterian Church.

He attended primary school in Uitenhage, senior school in Port Elizabeth and Edwards Memorial School.

In 1885, her family moved to Kimberley, where she became a teacher. Charlotte and her sister, Katie, joined the African Choir in 1891, which toured England (1891-1893) to honor Queen Victoria.

In 1894, Charlotte went with a choir to Canada and the USA.

In America he won a scholarship to Wilberforce University in Cleveland, Ohio, where he met and married Marshall Maxeke. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1905.

She and her husband returned to South Africa and founded the Wilberforce Institute.

In the African Methodist Episcopal Church she was elected president of the Women's Missionary Society.

From 1919 she became active in legislation and was a co-founder of the Bantu Women's League and was the organiser of the Women's Missionary Society in Johannesburg.

She and her husband established a school in Evaton and went on to teach and evangelize in other places, including Thembuland in the Transkei under the Sabata king Dalindyebo.

Charlotte participated in the king's court, a privilege for a woman. They then settled in Johannesburg, where she became the first African woman bailiff.

She and her husband attended the launch of the South African Native National Congress in Bloemfontein in 1913.

He participated in the formation of the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (UTI) in 1920 and set up an employment agency for Africans in Johannesburg.

She was the first black woman to become a probation officer for juvenile offenders. Charlotte was honored as "Mother of Black Freedom in South Africa." In Tanzania, a nursery school is named after her. Johannesburg Hospital was renamed Charlotte Maxeke Hospital.^{^[14]}

South Africa's Highest Award for Its Fight for Democracy and Nation-Building

Nomazizi Mtshotshisa (1944-2008) was born in Duncan Village, East London, South Africa. He attended Methodist Primary School in Tsolo and then Wales High School.

She was trained as a nurse at Livingstone Hospital. She worked in several hospitals. She obtained a degree in Nursing Law and Sciences. She was director of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (Nadel), contributing to the change of the country's judicial system.

He traveled throughout the country to ensure that political prisoners had legal assistance. At the height of the struggle, in the 1970s and 1980s, he financed those who went into exile and traveled many times to Harare, Zimbabwe, where he mobilized external support and resources for the struggle against apartheid.

After leaving Nadel, she entered the business world and became a successful businesswoman.

He was president of Midi, which owns TV E, and president of the telephone company Telkom.

She was Africa's first female president of an African company on the New York Stock Exchange. She was a pillar of strength for her family and a faithful member of the Methodist Church. She was a businesswoman, community activist, and political builder.

She was the embodiment of courageous leadership for women and made a great contribution to the struggle for democracy. She had a deep sense of humanity and humility, a leader who believed she could motivate and influence other women and was an example to follow.

The South African government awarded him the Order of the Luthuli in Bronze, an honor given to those who contribute to democracy, nation-building and conflict resolution.^{^[15]}

National Heroine of Barbados

Sarah Ann Gill (1795-1866) was a social and religious leader in Barbados, in the Caribbean. At the time, it was an overseas territory of England. Sarah's mother was black, and her father was white.

In Barbados, a person of African descent was considered inferior. Sarah married Alexander George Gill, of mixed ancestry, and at the age of 28 inherited his estate at the time of his death. The couple had a son, who died at a young age. In 1788, Methodism arrived in Barbados and challenged the prevailing social order for its fight against slavery.

Sarah embraced this faith and donated the land for the construction of the first Methodist temple. In October 1823, a white mob destroyed the chapel under construction, and the missionaries had to flee.

Sarah and her sister Christiana Gill were among the leaders of the Church and opened their homes for the Church to gather.

Sarah held services in times of persecution and physical threats, which included burning down their homes and prosecutions for holding "illegal" meetings. Sarah's home was shot at, and she was prosecuted by the Assembly of the Republic, but she confronted the authorities and continued to defend religious freedom and hold services.

On June 25, 1825, the House of Commons in England declared widespread religious protection and toleration in Barbados. Sarah donated the land for the construction of the James Street Methodist Church in Bridgetown. She was named a national heroine.

For her steadfastness against oppression, courage, perseverance and commitment to religious freedom, the Parliament of Barbados in 1998 included her as one of the ten National Heroes of Barbados, being the only woman.^{^[16]}

The Mother of Civil Rights in the USA

Rosa Parks (1913-2005) was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA. After her parents separated, she went to live on a farm around Montgomery with her maternal grandparents, mother and a brother. She was a seamstress and a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME).

She was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a local bus to a white man on the first day of December 1955. This fact helped launch the Civil Rights Movement in the USA, becoming the fuse of the anti-segregationist movement.

She said, "In my education and in the Bible, I learned that people should stand up for their rights, just as the children of Israel rose up against Pharaoh."

Martin Luther King encouraged blacks to boycott buses. She is now a symbol of the anti-racist struggle in the US. Rosa won a gold medal from the US Congress in 1999 with the inscription "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement today". A film – The Rosa Parks – was released about her story. Parks helped with communion and baptisms at her local congregation in Detroit and was also a deaconess, the highest position for a laywoman in the denomination.

She died in 2005 at the age of 92.

In 2013, a bronze statue of Rosa Parks was erected in Washington, remembering the civil rights leader.^{^[17]}

The woman who gave rise to the expression "first lady"

Lucy Ware Webb Hayes (1831-1899) was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, USA. Her father, James Webb, was a Christian physician and abolitionist. He passed away when Lucy was two years old. Lucy graduated from Wesleyan University in Cincinnati and married Rutherford Birchard Hayes, who was elected president of the United States.

Women copied her hairstyle and clothes. She earned the nickname "Lemonade Lucy" because she refused to serve alcohol at the White House. She was outgoing, friendly, almost always cheerful. She loved to sing and whistle (she knew a lot of bird songs).

First wife of a president to be called "first lady". Advocate for the abolition of slavery and women's rights.

She donated up to a thousand dollars a month to help the homeless. Lucy was admired by the American people, but she did not enjoy being First Lady. She was grateful when Rutherford Hayes' term ended in 1881. She was extremely popular and loved by the American people.

She was the first National President of the Women's House Missionary Society of the Methodist Church, where she worked to improve the condition of poor and destitute women.

She was intelligent and was the first presidential wife to have a university education. She was considered the ideal woman of the 19th century.^{^[18]}

Preacher, doctor and activist for women's rights

Anna Howard Shaw (1847-1919) was born in England. Her family, very poor, went to the USA. When she was 12 years old, her father left most of his family alone on an isolated farm in Michigan.

After her older brother became ill, Shaw sought to keep her land. She worked on the plantation, cut wood, and even dug a well.

She studied theology, was a preacher, doctor and activist for women's rights. She was the first woman appointed in the Protestant Methodist Church.

She preached about temperance and defended women's suffrage. For ten years, she was president of the National Women's Suffrage Association, fighting for women's suffrage and their rights as citizens, which happened in 1920.

She was president of the Commission for the Defense of Women's Work. She was the first woman to receive the highest civilian presidential citation, the Distinguished Service Medal, for efforts for world peace.

In his honor, the Anna Howard Shaw Center was created, affiliated with the Faculty of Theology at Boston University.

On the date of her birth, February 14, Anna Howard Shaw Day is celebrated. Anna was portrayed by Lois Smith in the film Iron jawed angels, shown on TV in 2004.^{^[19]}

Korea's First Female Lawyer and Judge

Tai-Young Lee (1914-1998) was born in Pukjin, Unsan County, now North Korea. Her father was a gold miner. She was Korea's first female lawyer and first female judge.

She fought for women's rights all her life. One of her most quoted phrases is, "no society can or will prosper without the cooperation of women." She is from the third generation of Methodists. Her grandfather founded the Methodist Church in the city of Pukjin.

After attending school in Pukjin, she graduated from Chung Ei Girls High School in 1931. She studied at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, majoring in Home Economics.

In 1936, she married Yil Hyung Chyung, a Methodist minister, who was arrested on charges of being a U.S. spy. He later became foreign minister of the Republic of Korea.

In 1938, they moved to Seoul, where her husband taught at the Methodist Theological Seminary. She was the founder of Korea's first Legal Aid Center in 1956. In 1971, she participated in the World Peace Conference. In 1975, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for her work in the cause of equal judicial rights for the liberation of Korean women.

In 1977, she was arrested and the following year she received the award from the International Association for Legal Aid. In 1981, she received an honorary doctorate of law from Maddison University.

In 1984, he received the World Methodist Peace Prize. Tai-Young Lee wrote 15 books.^{^[20]}

UN Award and First Lady of Mozambique and South Africa

Graça Simbene Machel Mandela was born in 1945 in Incadine, Gaza, Mozambique. The daughter of a Methodist minister, who died before she was born. She was sent to a Methodist mission school at the age of six and then went to university in Portugal on a scholarship from the Methodist Mission.

She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Philology of the German Language. She was a Mozambican politician and human rights activist. She received military training, worked with women and children, and taught at the school.

In 1974, she was appointed deputy principal of the Frelimo Secondary School in Bagamoyo. After independence, in 1975, Graça became Minister of Education and Culture and a member of the Central Committee of Frelimo (Mozambique Liberation Front).

She has been the first lady of Mozambique since 1976, when she married Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique, who died in 1986. In 1990, she was appointed by the UN to the Study of the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children. She received the Nansen Medal from the United Nations in 1995. In 1998, she married Nelson Mandela.

She has always been a pragmatic woman, who believes that education is the essential first step to progress.

She was elected by Time magazine as one of the hundred most influential figures in the world in 2010.^{^[21]}

[1] Search: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ellen-Johnson-Sirleaf

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ellen_Johnson-Sirleaf

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Johnson-Sirleaf

www.inumc.org/news/detail/2580

https://goodnewsmag.org/.../united-methodist-shares

www.emansion.gov.lr/2content.php?sub.

[2] Search: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nita_Barrow

http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=local&NewsID=24666

www.caricom.org/jsp/.../dame_nita_barrow.jsp?men

http://www.niherst.gov.tt/icons/women-in-science/nita-barrow.html

http://www.5wwc.org/conference_background/1985_WCW.html

http://www.iisd.org/women.nairobi.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=YWCA

[3] Search: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Dacon

http://www.caribbeanelections.com/knowledge/biography/bios/dacon_monica.asp

http://dccaribbeanbusinessdirectory.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/influential-caribbean-women-pt-5/

http://www.it.gov.vc/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33:contact-information&catid=90:crop-research-unit

[4] Search: www.metodista.org.br/congressista-maria-sumire

www.metodista.org.br/radio-intercultura

www.es.groups.yahoo.com/group/jucperu/message/1803

www.adital.com.br/site/noticia.php?lang=PT&cod=23731

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/María_Sumire

http://metodistaecumenico.blogspot.com.br/2006/07/quero-maria-sumire-pra-bispa-metodista.html

www.congresistamariasumire.blogspot.com/.../congresista-...

[5] Search: www.spectator.org/articles/40533/methodist-madame

www.newworldencyclopedia.org/.../Soong_May-lin

wwe.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mme-chiang-kai-shek-dead-at-106/

[6] Search: www.adital.com.br/site/noticia.php?lang=PT&cod=26496

www.metodistaecumenico.blogspot.com/.../quero-maria-sumire-pra-bispa-me

www.noticiacristiana.com › Society › Politics

www.metodista.org.br/content/interfaces/cms/.../ec_marco_06.pdf

www.es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimira_Rodríguez_Romero

http://www.noticiacristiana.com/sociedad/politica/2006/05/casimira-rodriguez-ser-ministra-de-justicia-de-bolivia-es-una-bendicion-de-dios.html

[7] *Title that a University grants by honors. "Recipients of honorary doctorate degrees do not earn the degree through academic achievements, rather than through generous and altruistic actions or life achievements that benefit a community, nation, or humanity at large." (http://study.com/articles/What_are_Honorary_Doctorate_Degrees.html).

https://www.umcsc.org/home/gov-nikki-haley-passes-out-umcor-health-kits/

http://www.enlabrecha.mx/trump-envia-evangelica-a-onu-para-defender-israel.php

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/aprilweb-only/nikki-haley-faith-interview.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikki_Haley

[8]An honorary degree is a way of honoring a notable person (http://www.ehow.com.br/faco-receber-doutorado-honorario-educacao-fatos_55996/). Honoris causa, abbreviated as h.c., is a Latin locution (Portuguese: "for the sake of honor") used in honorary degrees awarded by universities to eminent persons, who do not necessarily hold a university degree, but who have excelled in a certain area(https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honoris_causa).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Gordon_(politician)

http://bernews.com/bermuda-profiles/pamela-gordon/

http://biography.yourdictionary.com/pamela-gordon

http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-Biographies/Pamela-Gordon

[9]http://www.godvoter.org/Hillary-Clinton-religion.html

http://umcconnections.org/2013/11/05/clinton-salutes-long-running-mission-work-new-york/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/hillary-clinton-does-something-unusual-talk-about-her-faith

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton

www.olharcristao.blogspot.com/2014/02/biografia-de-hillary-clinton.htm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239054/Hillary-Clinton-Being-Methodist-fundamental-I-am.html

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halaevalu_Mata%CA%BBaho_%CA%BBAhome%CA%BBe

http://www.mic.gov.to/news-today/press-releases/6055-governments-tribute-to-her-majesty-the-queen-mother-queen-halaevalu-mataaho-on-her-90th-birthday

https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Halaevalu%20Mata%27aho%20%27Ahome%27e&item_type=topic

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halaevalu_Mata'aho

https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Halaevalu+Mata%27aho+%27Ahome%27e&item_type=topic

[11] http://fr.dbpedia.org/page/Ryu_Gwansun

https://www.facebook.com/changweon.jang/posts/10203024238677466

http://fr.dbpedia.org/page/Ryu_Gwansun

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryu_Gwansun

https://www.geni.com/people/Ryu-Gwan-sun/6000000013343474856

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universidade_de_Mulheres_Ewha

[12] http://advivo.com.br/comentario/re-lembrancas-da-luta-armada-15

http://memoriasdaditadura.org.br/biografias-da-resistencia/heleny-telles-ferreira-guariba/

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heleny_Guariba

http://irmandadedosmartires.blogspot.com.br/

http://memoriasdaditadura.org.br/biografias-da-resistencia/heleny-telles-ferreira-guariba/

GUARIBA, Heleny. The false "miracle". Maltese Cross, p.31-33.

http://revista.faculdadeunida.com.br/index.php/reflexus/article/viewFile/33/87

[13] *The Capitol is the meeting place of the U.S. Congress, formed by the Senate (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house). https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capit%C3%B3lio_dos_Estados_Unidos

http://www.cbeinternational.org/files/u1/free-art/brp171_her_own_story.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Ripley

https://personalpedia.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/dorothy-ripley-1767-1832-believe-it-or-not/

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/this-day-in-politics-114159

[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Maxeke

http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/charlotte-n%C3%A9e-manye-maxeke

http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/charlotte-maxeke-politician-and-founder-bantu-womens-league-south-africa-born

http://www.dacb.org/stories/southafrica/maxeke_charlotte.html

[15] Search: http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/pebble.asp?relid=17289

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sowetan/archive/2008/02/29/a-noble-life-well-lived

http://remembered.co.za/nomazizi-mtshotshisa-12852

[16] http://barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=local&NewsID=10024