Rani Durgavati (1524-1564)

Pencil drawing by Lauren Goldberg (personal tumblr, art tumblr)

Rani Durgavati ruled the Gond Kingdom in central India as regent for her son from 1550 to 1564.  In 1562, the Mughal General Asaf Khan attempted to annex Rani’s prosperous lands.  Rani personally led her troops into battle and succeeded in defeating the Mughal invaders.  Two years later, Rani attacked the Mughals with the hope of a permanent victory.  Outnumber 20,000 to 50,000, Rani held her ground for two days before she decided to commit suicide rather than surrender.  Her son was killed in battle and the Gond Kingdom fell to the Mughals.  

Rani Durgavati Fort in Mandla is open to visitors.  However, it is considered an unsafe place for women to visit.  According to The Times of India, at least two gang rapes were reported at Rani Durgavati Fort in 2012.

Mah Laqa Bai Chanda (1768-1824)

Art by Henrico Leorne (tumblr)

Mah Laqa Bai was a tawaif (courtesan) and a trusted adviser to the Nizam of Hyderabad.  She was appointed to the omarah (highest nobility) and  frequently consulted with the local rulers on government matters.

Tawaifs were accomplished artists and Mah Laqa Bai is best known as the first significant female poet to write in Urdu.  In 1799, she gave a manuscript entitled Diwan e Chanda to a British captain.  Today this manuscript is housed in the British Museum.  Gulzar-e-Mahlaqa (Mahlaqa’s flowers), a book of 39 Ghazals, was published soon after her death.

A patron of the arts, Mah Laqa Bai endowed several shrines during her lifetime.  After her death, her wealth was distributed to homeless women.  Mah Laqa Bai’s tomb in Hyderabad was restored in 2011. 

Representative Yvonne Brathwaite Burke leaves Queen of Angels hospital with her 6-day-old daughter Autumn Roxann.  Yvonne was the first member of Congress to give birth while in office. 

Woman weaving in Lachung, Sikkim.

May 1971

Qin Liangyu (1574-1646)

Art by Sertan Saral (tumblr)

From an early age, Liangy learned martial arts, horseback riding, and archery.  At the age of 20, she married a local Sichuan commander named Ma Qiancheng.  Together they maintained the peace in an area rife with warlords and insurrections.

Qiancheng died in 1613 and Liangyu took over his position.  In 1620, the Nvzhen ethnic minority declared independence from the Ming Dynasty.  Liangy led an army to defeat them, selling her own belonging to fund the campaign.  Ten years later the Manchu threatened Beijing. Liangy once again led an army supported by her own funds and defeated the insurgents.  The Chongzhen Emperor commemorated her victory with commissioned poetry.  

The Ming Dynasty fell in 1644.  Amid the turmoil, Liangy’s lands remained relative calm and agriculturally productive.  She is believed to have helped 100,000 refugees find homes in Shizhu.

An active leader until her death at age 75, Liangy was named Grand Protector of the Crowned Prince by the Southern Ming Emperor  She remains one of the highest ranking female warriors in Chinese history.

Qin Liangyu is not the real Mulan.  Mulan is fictional character who predates Liangyu by several hundred years.

From left Sherri Mishikawa, 4, Janet Hirata, 5, and Elizabeth Dobashi, 7, listen to Aileen Tanimoto, 10, play koto, a traditional Japanese instrument during celebration of Japanese Girls Day at Robert Hill School… It was the school’s first observance of Japanese Girls Day patterned after Japan’s traditional festival of the Doll. The idea of the holiday was projected by the principal, Mrs. Isabelle Ames, who spent three years in Japan as a child.

Los Angeles Times

March 4, 1964

Cantonese Pirate Ching Shih/Cheng I Sao/Shih Yang (1775–1844)

Art by Naomi Ward (blog, tumblr)

The early details of Ching Shih’s life are unclear, but she is believed to be a former sex worker captured by pirates.  In 1801, she married the pirate captain Zheng Yi and bore two sons.  Ching Shih was a full participant in the fleet as Chinese pirate bands were family affairs including women and children. In 1807, Zheng Yi was killed in Vietnam and Ching Shih took control of the fleet, a bold move for a woman of the time.  She built a coalition with her husband’s nephew and cousin, appointing his adopted son Chang Pao as her second in command.

Under Ching Shih’s leadership, the Red Flag Fleet became the most powerful pirate band in Asia.  They expanded from pillaging into protection schemes.  Ching Shih devised a new code of laws for pirates.  Complete obedience was required.  Disobedience led to beheading.    Female captives deemed unattractive were returned to shore, but attractive women could join the fleet as wives.  However, consent and fidelity were not optional.  Both rape and adultery were punishable by death.

The Red Flag Fleet thrived under Ching Shih’s command, successfully evading Chinese, British, and Portuguese opponents.  In 1810, the Chinese government offered the pirates amnesty and Ching Shih retired a rich woman.  She ran a gambling house with her second husband Chang Pao until her death in 1844 at the age of 69.

Girls in costume sit in front of Budda during Autumn Moon Festival in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, 1939

Tamaki Miura (三浦環), Japanese opera singer best known for her performance as  Cio-Cio-San in Puccini Madam Butterfly. 

The investiture of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

April 30, 1980

Today Queen Beatrix (age 75) abdicated in favor of her son Willem-Alexander.

Plant physiologist Helen Kemp Archbold Porter, the first woman to head a department at the Imperial College of Science and Technology.