Fran Hosken

photograph
Fran Hosken ca. 1950

Fran P. Hosken (1920 – 2 February 2006) was an American writer, feminist, and social activist. She founded the Women's International Network in 1975, and published a quarterly journal on women's health issues that became known, in particular, for its research into female genital mutilation (FGM).[1] Her report on FGM, The Hosken Report: Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females (1979), was influential in persuading the international community, including the World Health Organization, to make efforts to end the practice.

Background

Hosken was born as Franziska Porges in Vienna, Austria, where her father was a physician, and emigrated with her family to the United States in 1938. She attended Smith College, and in 1944 obtained a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, one of the first women to do so. She joined the Coast Guard during the Second World War, working in communications. She married James Hosken in 1947. They had three children, and divorced in 1962.[1]

Selected works

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kahn, Joseph P. "Fran P. Hosken, 86; activist for women's issues globally", The Boston Globe, 12 February 2006.

Further reading

External links