Marie Louise Mignot Marie Louise Mignot Marie Louise Mignot (1712–1790) was a French literary figure. She was the daughter of Voltaire's sister, Catherine Arouet (1686–1726) and her husband Pierre-François Mignot (d. 1737). After the death of her widowed father in 1737, Voltaire provided her with a dowry and she married army supply officer Nicolas-Charles Denis, giving rise to her married name of Madame Denis. After her husband's premature death in 1744, she was taken in by Voltaire and became his housekeeper, hostess and companion. She also adopted his protégée Reine Philiberte de Varicourt when the latter's marriage to the marquis de Villette foundered
Fran Hosken (1979), was influential in persuading the international community, including the World Health Organization, to make efforts to end the practice. As a pioneer in speaking out against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation, Ms. Hosken courageously withstood often vicious criticism in defense of the women being subjected to these practices. Fran Hosken Fran P. Hosken (Vienna Austria 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).