Chinese women in space Chinese women in space In 2012, China became the third nation to send women into space with its own space program, after the Soviet Union/Russia and the United States, 49 years after the first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. Following the successful piloted flight of "Shenzhou 5" in October 2003, China announced plans to send a woman into space as well. Gu Xiulian, president of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), told a gathering that she proposed that women, too, should be trained for space missions after China's first piloted space trip. Initially, the criteria for women to be selected, included having
The Woman Who Had No Shadow The Woman Who Had No Shadow "The Woman Who Had No Shadow" is a Scandinavian fairy tale, included by Sven Grundtvig in "Gamle danske Minder i Folkemunde" and Ella Ohlson in "Sagor från Ångermanland". It is Aarne-Thompson type 755, Sin and grace. A woman, wishing to have no children, threw rocks into a well at a witch's direction. Thereafter, she had no shadow. Her husband, the parson, demanded to know why and threw her out, saying that their slate roof would blossom with flowers before she was forgiven. One day, a beggar woman sought refuge there; she died in the