Rachel Corrie

Some in-your-face women take on their families. Some take on an empire. Twenty-three-year-old Rachel Corrie took on an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer on March 16, 2003, and lost her life. As a member of the International Solidarity Movement, Corrie had come to Rafah in the Gaza Strip to initiate a sister city project between Rafah and her home town of Olympia, Washington. Trained as non-violent resisters, she and others from the United States and Great Britain had been occupying areas around local wells and serving as human shields to protect Palestinians and their houses from military action.

On the day in question, Corrie positioned herself in front of the bulldozer which then rolled over her body, killing her. Stories contradict each other as to whether or not her death was intentional or accidental, but either way, Corrie’s courage as she took a stand for peace has made her a martyr and a hero to many and an example of an in-your-face woman to us all.