Strong
Women
-
Polish
strong
womenSiłaczka [Strongwoman] is the title of a novella by Stefan Żeromski about a woman who dedicates herself wholly to being a teacher in rural Poland. The character was inspired by the real-life social activist Faustyna Morzycka. In the late nineteenth century, a whole generation of women worked tirelessly in education and improving the lives of those who needed it most: women, peasants, low-wage workers and prisoners. -
Faustyna Morzycka
She founded schools, developed teaching materials for children in rural areas and co-founded Women’s Rural Teaching Circle. In the early twentieth century she became active in underground socialist circles.
-
Jadwiga Szczawińska-Dawidowa
Founder of the 'Flying University' – an underground university for women – as well as other, lawful and illegal institutions, such as the first public library in Warsaw. She dedicated her life to fighting for equal rights for women and universal access to education.
-
Maria Wysłouchowa
Feminist and educational activist, with her husband she worked for the establishment of an independent peasant movement; she also ran numerous campaigns promoting education and improving the lives of women in rural Poland.
-
Stefania Sempołowska
She 'played an active part in everything that went on in Poland during her fifty years'. She was an organiser of underground education, an activist for the rights of women, and founder of initiatives supporting political prisoners.