Monumental Women

10/10/2026

Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a South African jurist, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Nobel Prize for her work in international justice.

Born into a family of Indian Tamil descent in Durban, Pillay trained as a lawyer and began defending anti-apartheid activists. In 1967 she founded her own law firm. She later studied at Harvard University, earning a Doctor of Juridical Science degree in 1988.

Her judicial career began in 1995 with an appointment to the High Court of South Africa. Four years later she became a judge and then President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). There she became known for helping establish that sexual violence, r**e, and the spreading of propaganda can lead to indictment for crimes against humanity and genocide. She went on to serve as a judge on the International Criminal Court (ICC), and from 2008 to 2014 she was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. More recently, she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 2021 to 2025, and in 2019 she became an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case in which Myanmar stands accused of genocide.

The Nobel Committee highlighted her role as a driving force in developing an international system of law and order, and praised her judicial rigour, personal integrity, and considerable courage. It framed the recognition against a troubling backdrop: wars and conflicts are increasing, and both judges and institutions of international law face political attacks.

The Committee’s central message is that resolving conflicts without force or violence depends on the international rule of law. In its view, a legal system that holds war criminals accountable and delivers justice to victims of abuse is a precondition for a peaceful world. Pillay’s career, spanning anti-apartheid advocacy, international tribunals, and human rights leadership, is presented as an example of what that commitment looks like in practice.

United Nations

10/01/2026

Find the Brownsville, Brooklyn site of "The Clinic" on Monumental Women Women's Rights Trail. Operated by Margaret Sanger and her sister Emily Byrne, it was the first Birth Control Clinic in the United States. Open for just 10 days, it served hundreds of women before the police shut it down and arrested Sanger and Byrne.

09/22/2026

Monumental Women congratulates Lisa Leslie, a WNBA pioneer known for being the first woman to dunk in a league game and sign with a modeling agency, added a new milestone Sunday: she became the first The Los Angeles Sparks player honored with a bronze statue outside Crypto.com Arena. The unveiling made her the 16th person memorialized in the arena's Star Plaza and only the second woman, after Gianna "Gigi" Bryant, who died with her father Kobe Bryant in a 2020 helicopter crash.

The ceremony drew Leslie's former USC coach Marianne Stanley, Lakers legends Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, James Worthy, and Michael Cooper, and former teammate Candace Parker. The 11-foot statue, titled "The First Lady," captures Leslie mid-dunk. She said she worked closely with sculptors Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt Amrany for months to balance athletic ferocity with femininity, including details like her ribbons and nail polish, wanting young girls to see themselves in her.

Leslie recounted her path from being raised by a single mother in Compton to stardom at Morningside High and a 1994 national title at USC. She soon negotiated her own Nike contract, signed with Wilhelmina Models before the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and joined the Sparks in their inaugural 1997 season. Over 12 years, she won three MVP awards, led the Sparks to titles in 2001 and 2002, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2015.
Cooper shared stories of her competitive drive, including an early dunk contest against him and her habit of arriving early to learn post moves from Lakers greats — a work ethic she kept until her eighth month of pregnancy. Johnson recalled her outplaying men in pickup games at UCLA.

Leslie, retired since 2009 and now working in business and broadcasting, praised today's WNBA stars, contrasting the social-media scrutiny they face with the more limited exposure of her era, while expressing gratitude for the sport's growing support and visibility.

09/12/2026

On the 25th anniversary, photos of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum showing the names of the 3 heroic women first responders who lost their lives on 9/11/01.

09/12/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz0jH-p9jG4
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, it is with profound gratitude that we thank Brenda Berkman and Regina Wilson for their valiant service to New York City as fire department first responders.

Brenda and Regina are New York City Fire Department (FDNY) heroes who responded on 9/11 and worked at Ground Zero for months, as well as dedicated board members of Monumental Women.

09/11/2026

09/11/2026

Monumental Women This is the 22nd in a series honoring women at Ground Zero.

Moira Smith left the impression she was up for anything and was willing to run toward danger when necessary to do her duty as an NYPD Officer. Her supervisors and coworkers agreed she was a reliable, courageous and caring police officer. On September 11, 2001 Moira was at a demonstration just north of the Trade Center when the first plane struck Tower One. She immediately got on the radio and described the attack, brought some witnesses to her precinct then headed to the WTC. Moira, a decorated officer before 9/11, had nothing to prove. She could have stayed at the precinct but as her friend Sgt. Mary Young said “She was so compassionate, so serious about her work, nothing could have kept her from running into that building on September 11 to help save lives. Nothing.” Over and over Moira urged people to leave Tower 2, to evacuate immediately as safely as possible. She was photographed leading a man bleeding from his head to safety, and then she turned around and went back to the building. “Don’t look. Don’t look. Keep moving” witnesses said she repeated as people reached the ground floor.
Moira loved and was devoted to her husband NYPD Officer Jim Smith and their two-year-old Patricia Mary. The family hoped against hope Moira would be found in a hospital but she had died in the collapse of Tower Two. Her body was recovered in March 2002 on the first day of spring and was carried out with an honor guard that included several other women officers. Her husband Jim said of her: “What Moira did on September 11 wasn’t a one-time thing. That’s who Moira was. That was what she did every day. She wasn’t reckless, but she never backed down.”

Excerpts from Women at Ground Zero (Hagen and Carouba)

09/10/2026

We honor the tremendous sacrifice of Yamel and her family, especially her son.❤️

Monumental Women This is the 21st in a series honoring the women of Ground Zero.

Yamel Merino, a 24-year-old EMT with MetroCare Ambulance Service in Mt. Vernon, New York, responded without hesitation to the World Trade Center attack. She was assigned to a 911 ambulance and ended up working in a triage area at the Marriott Hotel, across the street from the Twin Towers, when the South Tower collapsed and killed her. This made her one of three, and youngest, female rescue worker to die that day. Her coworker and best friend, Sande Santiago, had been on the phone with her when the dispatch call came in over the radio; Yamel said she'd call back once downtown, but never did. Sande grew increasingly alarmed as time passed without Yamel checking in — unusual for someone so by-the-book about radio protocol.
That day, Yamel's mother, Anna Jager, waited on her front steps for news. MetroCare Supervisor Elsie Torres and Sande delivered the devastating update that Yamel was missing. The following night, Yamel's father called MetroCare Vice President Jim O'Connor at 1:30 a.m. asking if she'd been found; O'Connor had to say no. The next day, when her death was confirmed, O'Connor personally broke the news to the family — a moment he calls the hardest of his life, met with disbelief, screaming, and grief from her parents and sister, Gabriella Sierra.

Yamel is remembered as an exceptional EMT — named EMT of the Year in 1999 — who treated elderly patients like family, often singing and dancing with coworker Sande to cheer them up. She was a devoted single mother to eight-year-old Kevin, having worked hard to build a stable life for him.

When asked, Yamel's grieving sister Gabriella Sierra offered the following advice: "Hold on to your memories. Take advantage of every moment you have with the people you love."

Excerpted from Women at Ground Zero (Hagen and Carouba)

Photo credit Joyce Benna