Women in the world are at an unparalleled point in history for political power. In this country, there is a strong likelihood that Hillary Clinton will be the Democrats’ nominee for President this fall. Four of the past eight winners of the Nobel Peace Prize have been women, including MalalaYousafzai, the youngest-ever winner of the award.
Yousafzai is one of twenty women represented in a concert and reading presented by the Milwaukee Public Theatre this weekend. Most Dangerous Women honors a century of work by women peace activists from around the world.
"It's a century of women insisting that there's better ways to do things than wars and bombs and inequality," says playwright Jan Maher.
The concert reading features speeches, poems and music from influential female peacemakers. It includes women like Jane Addams, the founder of Hull House and Jeanette M. Rankin, the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress. For director Deb Krajec, the show was an education in women's history.
"Many of them are just ordinary housewives of their time," she says. "Not somebody you would think would have the courage to speak up. But a lot of these women just could not sit back and watch something that they thought was so horrible continue to happen without doing something."
Most Dangerous Women is presented by Milwaukee Public Theatre, Marquette Theatre, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. It runs through April 24 at the Helfaer Theater at Marquette University.
