The France Association, in collaboration with USA Foundation, has launched a world-wide operation to choose 1,000 of the most illustrious women from 185 countries who, from prehistoric times till today, have made remarkable contributions rtf the evolution of mankind.
The operation, called Mythical Women, is sponsored by the French Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of National Education, UNESCO and the United Nations Fund for Women.
It will be tutored by a prestigious support committee.
The selected women will be the object of a roving international show - exhibition which will be inaugurated in Paris in 1999 and later move to New York and other cities.
They will be the material for the publication of a major encyclopedia.
This month, the national selections will be validated by an international committee followed by a final validation after consultation about the list of contemporary women with the broad public via the Internet.
The official list of Mythical Women of Human History will be announced in March 1998.
Each country will be represented by a jury composed of about 30 personalities of different callings; the jury will have the task of presenting to the international committee a list of national candidates.
Each country will select from one to a maximum of 30 women.
As a consulting member of the Vietnamese jury, I have taken part with keen interest in the lively discussions occasioned by the selection.
We based ourselves on the following theme formulated by the director of research at the National Committee for Scientific Research (CNRS). Camille Lacoste Dujardin: "Illustrious women who have played an important role or performed acts of heroism. Women whose image is preserved in the popular memory of their region, their nation and their culture. Women who represent exemplary values and reinforce the pride of their people".
In the light of this definition, our jury agreed, without much difficulty, on the choice of ten names from the Prehistoric Period and the recorded history till the beginnings of the French colonization (the 1980s). The official list has not yet been adopted. Below are the names selected by the majority in the jury:
1. Legendary or semi-historic figures:
Lady Au Co: Au Co, the immortal married King Lac Long Quan, who came from the race of Dragons They gave birth to 100 eggs enclosed in a bag from which 100 were hatched - ancestors of the Vietnamese, Au Co has become symbol of cultivation (initiator of rice cultivation and silk weaving).
Goddess Mother Thien Y Ana: Goddess Pornunagar of the Cham and adopted by the Vietnamese, Ancestor of the Cham people, she brought agriculture and fecundity
To Thi: Incarnation of conjugal fidelity, she stood on a mountain her child in her arms, waiting day after day the return of her husband until she was transformed into a rock - the Rock of the Woman Waiting for her Husband.
Goddess Mother Lieu Hanh: A fallen fairy, she is reincarnated in the daughter of a wealthy family in Nam Dinh; after three years of marriage, she returned to heaven. She is object of a very wide- spread popular cult.
2. Heroines of national independence:
The Trung Sisters (1st century): Helped by her sister, Trung Trac took up arms against the Chinese occupationists to avenge her husband and liberated the country.
Her kingdom lasted only three years.
Le Chan (1st century): Brilliant lieutenant of Trung Trac.
Lady Trieu (3rd century): Leader of an insurrection against the Chinese occupation army. Defeated, she took her own life.
Bui Thi Xuan (18th century): Brilliant general of the Tay Son peasant insurrection.
3. Stateswomen:
Queen Y Lan (12th century): She directly oversaw the affairs of the kingdom, in which she displayed high perspicacity, wisdom and love for the people.
4. Women of letters and arts:
Pham Thi Tran (10th century): Founder of the cheo popular opera.
Ho Xuan Huong (18th century): Poetess of great originality, who wrote in the national language as distinguished from those who wrote poems in Chinese. She is known for her erotic style and biting sense of satire.
The wife of the Thanh Quan district governor (18th century):
Nostalgic poetess of ruins and the good old days.
These are women of yesteryear.
I do not mention the list of the women of the present time also proposed for the selection because here consensus would be much more difficult.
Moreover, the International Committee has made explicit reserve by declaring that "the names of present-day women would be preceded with the legend. Will they become mythical women tomorrow?"
