Woman creates secret society and hides 'secrets notes' in public to reveal women history erased

In the lanes of Antwerp, a mysterious woman can be seen creeping across railway stations, museums, and gardens, placing envelopes and leaving handwritten letters inside ancient trees, bustling cafes, under monument statues, and in library books. Each letter contains the name of an extraordinary woman, forgotten in history books. This woman is Valerie Thys, the creator of Ministry of Lost Voices (@ministryoflostvoices). Thys was angry that women’s achievements are not revered as much as the victories of kings and conquerors. So she set forth on a mission to bring back the identities of these overlooked women into the light and inspire others to dream big. Her October 10, 2026 Instagram intro has amassed over 448,000 views.

Revolutionary idea

Thys revealed that the idea actually began 24 years ago, with a fiction book titled “De Passe Van Artemisia.” She became mesmerized by the extraordinary 17th-century painter talked about in the book. “I remember thinking, ‘Why haven’t I learned about these women in school? Why don’t we know more about women like her?’” she said. Then last year, while she was browsing a bookshop in London, she came across another book by the name “Femina.”

This book, she said, opened her eyes. The third book that shaped her worldview was “She Speaks” by Harriet Walter. After reading these books, stars aligned somewhere in her mind, and she got determined to bring back the women into the limelight — women from history whose achievements and voices have been overlooked or forgotten.

Ministry for forgotten women

“You see, history has a rather unfortunate habit of misplacing extraordinary women. Their names and their stories, but also their voices. So I decided to do something about it. I founded a Ministry,” Thys wrote in the post. According to her, the ministry is a one-woman “snail mail club” where she “researches remarkable women from history, writes imagined letters in their voices, and sends their stories into the world, one beautifully old-fashioned envelope at a time.”

She described that the ministry also involves a podcast and a “secret Listening Room.” Her intention behind all this isn’t to look for a secret but to unravel missing stories and lay them out bare for everyone to see. As of November, she will take the tour through London and Antwerp and has asked the viewers to wait for her instructions.

Undermining of women's achievements in history books

Thys’s project perfectly fits where statistics confirm that women have been overlooked or missed in history books. For instance, FindMyPast.co.uk analyzed 150 years' worth of census records and found that 68 million women, including people’s ancestors, could go unrecognized in history, with census records labeling them as “unoccupied.” Most of these official records report women’s identities based on their marital status or household duties. Nearly 60% of the working-age female population is overlooked in these records. Worse still, almost a third (29%) of women today feel their current contributions to society are undervalued.

This should be a TV show

The internet is impressed by Thys’s idea and is already sharing names of women they know and believe should be remembered. @mlee1223 commented, “Love every twist of genius that stems from this idea! Women telling stories, leaving notes, spreading wisdom and kindness, and sharing history! All the possibilities swirling out of this inspiration. Everyone should start their branch of The Society.” @dreamycrowder said, “We need this in a multi-book series, movie, and TV show.”

You can follow the @MinistryofLostVoices on Instagram for more updates.

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