There is a saying in Canada that what we lack in history we make up in geography. I disagree. Canada really does have an interesting history, we just have a few presentation issues - mainly that textbooks and the educational system present things in such as way that makes watching paint dry seem exciting in comparison. And women in history? Pfft! Forget about it. It doesn't mean that they weren't there, oh yes indeed they were, but rather that the history of the frontier woman is less important than the history of say, the Fathers of Confederation. Have you heard of Jennie Trout? Nellie McClung? No? Well have a seat while I tell you about a few women with moxy.

Let's start with Jennie Trout - the first woman to be licensed to practice medicine in Canada. Jenny was no shrinking violet. She was a married women who taught school for a few years before coming down with "nervous disorders". It was during her illness that she decide to pursue a medical degree. It was no easy thing to accomplish. While at the University of Toronto Jennie and her good friend Emily Stowe encountered demeaning treatment - part of which was chronicled in a Canadian Historica Minute. Jenny and Emily eventually left UofT to complete their studies at the Women's Medical College in Pennsylvania. In 1875, after passing the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons exam and at 34 years of age, Jennie Trout became the first licensed female physician in Canada. Emily Stowe would become the second in 1880.

Notice how I keep saying the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada? That's because it's thought that there was another before Trout and Stowe - a Dr. Miranda Stuart. If you do a search for Stuart what will you find? Dr. James Barry. It seems that Stuart disguised herself as a man in order to attend medical school in Scotland (her homeland). As Dr. Barry she served in India and South Africa, rising to the rank of Inspector General in charge of military hospitals which is how she found herself in Canada. She didn't remain here but it is thought that she was the first woman to practice medicine here. For most information on Stuart/Barry (and let's be honest, it's a pretty darned interesting story) check out the Women of History and Gender Variant Biography blogs.

Two other women that, like Trout, were given their own Canadian Historica Minutes were Emily Murphy and Nellie McClung - two of Canada's Famous Five. In 1916 Emily Murphy became the British Empire's first female judge. Suffragette Nellie McClung was a key figure in women gaining the right to vote in Winnipeg in 1916 (Canada as a whole would follow through the following year). In 1927 McClung and Murphy banded together with Irene Parlby (first female Cabinet minister in Alberta), Louise McKinney (first woman elected to a legislature in Canada and the British Empire) and Henrietta Edwards (a founding member of the Victoria Order of Nurses) to challenge the Supreme Court of Canada to answer the question as to whether women were "persons" under the law. Seems utterly ridiculous to think about now doesn't it? What's even worse is that the Supreme Court ruled that women were NOT persons under law. Now, as you might guess, these Famous Five weren't exactly thrilled with that answer. So as Canada was a dominion of the British Empire they took their case, popularly known as the Person's Case, to the British Privy Council who said on October 18, 1929 that yes, these five women and all women after them are indeed persons under the law.

In Canada we actually celebrate Women's History Month in October because that's when it was declared we were all persons - a mighty good reason to celebrate. I found a post at Mary's Writing Nook from last year's Women's History Month. She shines a light on a few women in the post - some that were new to me. Like Helen Harrison who was an ATA pilot and flew bombers in WWII! Sadly after the war she would end up giving up flying because as a woman she couldn't find consistent work.

These women above were all great women and it's partly in thanks to them that I enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that come my way. But there are other important women in our personal histories that don't garner nearly as much attention. Like Emily Lily Iles nee Dudley. Never heard of her? Me neither. But she played a very important role in Janet's life - she was her grandmother. Janet paid homage to her in her post Women's History Month Salutes

Lil was mother to nine who lived to adulthood: three daughters and six sons. One son and one daughter are still living. During the First World War, her husband was overseas for three and a half years. I understand that he went overseas in March 1916, the month in which my father was born. I wonder if he was home for my dad's birth. It must have been hard for her while grandpa was gone.

All these women, the famous and those that are known only to their family, confirm another Canadian saying - Canadian women kick ass.

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.