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2010 - Seven Who Rewrite the Rules

Monday, January 4, 2010
By WeNews Staff

Profiles of seven outstanding leaders dedicated to improving women’s lives: Michael Dowd, Patricia Gruber, Ilene Lang, Ana Langer, Tonya Lewis Lee, Sarwat Malik and Maria Do Socorro Melo Brandao.

Michael G. Dowd, Defender of Women with Charges

Once again, attorney Michael Dowd is in court, defending what many believe is indefensible: a woman accused of murdering her husband, a police officer, while he shaved. He’s done it 25 times before, more than any other lawyer in the country. The judge in the case delivered a rare, and perhaps temporary, defeat to Dowd’s client by ruling in December that Dowd couldn’t enter psychiatric testimony that, after 25 years of abuse, his client was suffering from post-traumatic distress disorder at the time of the shooting.

Patricia Gruber, Awarder of Giant Leaps Forward

The “Nobel Prize for Women’s Rights” is how the annual award given by Patricia Gruber and her husband, Peter, is thought of in the human rights community. Such a description is only fitting, as the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation is a major force in the global fight for women’s equality.

Ilene Lang, Measurer of Women’s Power

As a trailblazer in the field of information technology, Ilene Lang, 66, was always concerned with opportunities for women’s advancement in the business world. In 2003, she turned her avocation into a mission when she became president of Catalyst, a research and advisory organization working to build inclusive workplaces and expand opportunities for women and business. She was named its chief executive officer in 2008.

Dr. Ana Langer, Healer of Health Policies

Dr. Ana Langer stands at the intersection where women’s rights and health meet. As an ardent advocate for women’s health, she’s on a mission to make maternal deaths a part of the past.

Tonya Lewis Lee, Champion for Healthy Mothers

Maternal mortality and infant mortality rates in the United States are in the top tier among developed nations, and African American women and infants are significantly more at-risk—regardless of income or education. Acclaimed author and children’s television producer Tonya Lewis Lee has spent the past two years on a mission trying to change the health profile of pregnant women and their infants, with a special focus on African American lives.

Dr. Sarwat S. Malik, Pathfinder for Muslim Women

Dr. Sarwat Malik is hoping to see the results of her efforts to empower Muslim women in her lifetime. Diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007, she was told by her first oncologist she had a life expectancy of six months to a year. With her persistence and new advances in treatment, she now is stable and has a new life’s ambition.

Maria do Socorro Melo Brandao, Infuser of New Futures

Maria do Socorro Melo Brandao was five years old when her family left the impoverished state of Ceará in northeast Brazil to search for better opportunities in Rio de Janeiro, more than 1,000 miles south. But the life of a migrant family was difficult in 1966 and her parents struggled for years to secure even the most basic amenities.

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