role models - activists

Rosa Parks
Rosa, after refusing to stand up and allow a white person to take her seat in the bus, became the figurehead and sympbol of the modern civil rights movement in the U.S. She spoke of the day she was arrested: 'But when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became'
She went on to work with many civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King and devoted her life to the movement. She died in 2005 aged 92 and will be forever one of the enduring figures in the history of the civil rights movement.

Jackie Schneider
Jackie is certainly a role model for us as PinkStinks. She took on the council in Merton and challenged and changed the school dinner provision in the borough, with her campaign Merton parents for better school meals. She had never campaigned about anything before, but won, through determination, hard work and belief in what she knew was right. Hooray for Jackie. She is testament to the fact that if you don't like something, then if you put your mind to it, you can do something about it.

Emmeline Pankhurst
The leader of the women's suffragettes, who won women the right to vote in the UK. IN 1999 Time magazine named Emmeline as one of the most important figures of the 20th Century 'she shaped an idea of women for our time; she shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back'

Irene Khan
Is the first woman and first muslim secretary general of Amnesty International. She was born in Bangladesh but went to school in Northern Ireland. She spent 20 years working for the UN before joining Amnesty. She has supported and initiated many campaigns within Amnesty including the 'stop violence against women' campaign.

Lubna Hussein
Lubna Hussein was accused in Sudan of wearing indecent clothing (trousers) and took on the Sudanese government, risking flogging and imprisonment. As a result of her brave actions another campaigner and activist for women's rights commented 'Lubna has given us a chance. She is very brave. Thousands of girls have been beaten since the 1990s, but Lubna is the first one not to keep silent'

As well as our specific 'activist' role models, we can include many others from our other catagories, including:

Meryl Streep
Susan Sarandon
Majora Carter
Wangari Maathai
Annie Lennox
Miriam Makeba
Anita Roddick
June Sarpong



facts

Sheila McKechnie

Sheila McKechnie described herself as a 'fully paid up member of the awkward squad'. Her campaigning powers were legendary. She began her career working for a number of trade unions where she tackled health and safety issues.

She joined Shelter as its Director in 1985, turning the organisation around to make it a strong force in tackling homelessness and its causes. She co-founded the Foyer Federation, which provides support to hundreds of thousands of young homeless people.

In 1995 Sheila became Director of Consumers' Association, now Which?. She mounted campaigns on mortgage mis-selling and car prices, as well as tackling standards in the food industry. Her work on food issues led directly to the setting up of the Food Standards Agency in 2000.

She was awarded an OBE in 1995 and in 2001 became a Dame of the British Empire. Sheila died of cancer in January 2004 at the age of 55.

The Sheila McKechnie Foundation was set up a year later, in memory of the immense contribution she made to campaigning in the UK.