Avenger of the Week | Bella Abzug: Activist, Lawyer, U.S. Representative

In 1971, at the insistence of US Representative Bella Abzug (D-NY), the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day. Abzug knew a thing or two about the issue. She obtained her law degree from Columbia University after being rejected from Harvard Law School because of her gender, and later worked for the ACLU. She went on to help organize Women Strike for Peace in 1961 and joined Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem in establishing the National Women’s Political Caucus. Her signature “working woman” hats became her Washington D.C. calling card after her term as a US Representative was over. In her life after Congress, Abzug created the Women’s Environmental Development Organization, an advocacy organization that “promotes and protects human rights, gender equality, and the integrity of the environment.”

In celebration of #WomensEqualityDay, we recognize #BellaAbzug who led the way to make it a reality. #genderavenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-bella-abzug