Anonymous Is a Woman

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"With a global economic crisis looming, Ansary's book is a reminder that our responses must be alive to inequalities already at play." — London Times

Award-winning author, women's rights advocate, and historian Dr. Nina Ansary takes readers on a 4,000-year historical journey to expose the roots and manifestations of systemic gender discrimination. The book's biographical profiles of fifty forgotten female innovators—brought to life by international illustrator Petra Dufkova—shatter deeply rooted gender myths to tell remarkable stories about groundbreaking contributions to the global community.

In 1929, British novelist Virginia Woolf ran her fingers along the spines of the books in her library wondering why no woman in Shakespeare's era had written "a word of that extraordinary literature when every other man, it seemed, was capable of song or sonnet." She concluded, "Indeed, I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman."

Nearly a century after Woolf penned those incisive words—frequently modified as "For most of history, Anonymous was a woman"—the phenomenon of female anonymity persists as women worldwide continue to be restricted by society's formal and unspoken barriers.

Why does Virginia Woolf's statement still echo in the twenty-first century?Why have women been consistently denied opportunities that are automatically given to men?And why has the historical record failed to adequately recognize notable women?

Anonymous Is a Woman. . .exposes the roots and manifestations of institutionalized gender discrimination; dismantles centuries of historical bias through biographical profiles of fifty remarkable, yet forgotten women innovators; and challenges ingrained stereotypical assumptions to advance an unconventional argument for equality and inclusivity.

100% of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated. The primary recipients will be The Center for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights in Iran, and The London School of Economics Centre for Women, Peace, and Security, an academic space for scholars, practitioners, activists, policymakers, and students to develop strategies that promote justice, human rights, and participation of women in conflict-affected situations around the world.