November 29th was the International Women Human Rights Defenders Day. This means keeping one day, every year, in recognition and remembrance of individuals who have committed their lives to defending the rights of women as human beings.

Take Back The Tech! is partly in recognition of the same. In the field of information and communications technology (ICTs), as part of science and technology in general, women and grrls who have contributed meaningfully to the field are rarely valued or named.

For example, Ada Lovelace who played a significant role in developing the potential of the Difference Engine and the Analytical Machine (early predecessor of the computer) is obscured by Charles Babage, who is credited with being the 'father' of modern computers.

Grace Hopper, who invented the first computer language composed of words (FLOW-MATIC), has also until fairly recently, been under-recognised.

Even in supposedly 'progressive' ICTs spaces, like the Free/Libre and Open Source Software (F/LOSS) movements, women and grrls got a little fed up with the ever-present culture of masculinities and carved their own spaces, like Linux Chix.

There must be millions of unnamed sheroes that we have encountered in the course of our lives. Think of sheroes - from ordinary grrls to sacred cows - that have made a difference in your life. Call her the shero that she is for making an impact in how you experience life, technology, and/or understand violence against women.

Add your own shero here. Send an SMS to 15 people, telling them about your shero, and ask them for theirs. Spray her name on walls and over the internet.

Name her. Honor her. Party in her name.

Some examples of Sheroes initiaves popping up in different spaces :)

• A explorar a Galeria: Grandes Pensadoras - confabulando
• International Campaign on Human Rights Defenders
• Sheroes Central
• Sheroes - Celebrating the Courage and Conviciton of Extraordinary Women
• Know more?