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Composite image of the Trung sisters. Source: warmtail / Adobe Stock

Hell Hath No Fury Like the Freedom Fighting Trung Sisters

Throughout history, Vietnamese women have been instrumental in resisting foreign domination. The most well-known of these heroines are the Trung sisters, who led the first national uprising against...
Eroding sand dunes revealed an archaeological site at the Links of Noltland on Westray, evidence of a settlement on Bronze Age Orkney. Source: EASE Archaeology

Bronze Age Orkney Welcomed Female Migrants, Claims Controversial Paper

A new DNA study is shining light on Bronze Age Orkney. The results show how an influx of mostly women affected family traditions and spiritual customs on the island. However, some scientists are...
Young happy woman standing by an American Civil War canon in Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia. 		Source: Andriy Blokhin / Adobe Stock

Women’s Changing Roles Before and During the American Civil War

Overall, the nineteenth century saw women continue to fight to improve their own roles, as well as the rights of others, like slaves. Women participated in a series of conventions and protests to...
Victims of Arrogance and Cruelty: The Pendle Witch Trials of 1612

Victims of Arrogance and Cruelty: The Pendle Witch Trials of 1612

Witch trials are among some of the cruelest events in European history. Thousands of innocent women were murdered by people who provided fake accusations. In England, one of the most famous witch...
Sybil Ludington rode through the night to warn Patriots that the British were coming. Source: Cattallina / Adobe Stock

Sybil Ludington: Unsung Heroine of the American Revolutionary War

Sometimes we fail to notice the greatest heroes . Courage and daring can hide even in the smallest of characters, springing up unexpectedly and just in the nick of time. Sybil Ludington was just...
Haunting and beautiful Middle-Earth-like elves by artist

Icelanders Believed in Elves, But it is Probably Not What You Think

Icelanders believe in elves. They refuse to begin major construction projects unless they consult with elves first. They lobby their politicians on behalf of elf colonies. They run “elf schools” and...
Foot binding tradition

Last Traces of the Ancient Foot Binding Tradition Captured on Film

Throughout history, men and women alike have suffered pain and agony in the name of beauty - from the practices of body modification in indigenous tribes throughout the world, to suffocatingly tight...
A witch or a woman in a dark forest? Witch pricking was used for centuries to falsely prove a woman (or a man) was a witch!

Witch Pricking And The Devil’s Mark

A witch or not? Guilty or innocent? Witch hunting was all the craze in the late medieval period and onwards in Europe and involved some rather peculiar practices. Witch hunters of all kinds emerged...
Archaeologists at the excavation site of Tecoaque near Calpulalpan in Mexico have discovered 24,000 bones relating to the 500-year-old “sacrifice and revenge slaughter” events that brought Zultépec-Tecoaque to a bloody end.

Charred Remains Reveal the Ultra-Violent End of Zultépec-Tecoaque

Archaeologists at the excavation site of Tecoaque near Calpulalpan in Mexico have discovered 24,000 bones relating to the 500-year-old “sacrifice and revenge slaughter” events that brought Zultépec-...
Woman of the Harem

Imperial Harem of the Ottoman Empire Served the Sultan in More Ways Than One

The imperial harem of the Ottoman era was the collection of wives, servants, and concubines of the Sultan, who sometimes numbered in the hundreds. Some were mere playthings or used for the production...
The Story of Eliza Hamilton: The Woman Behind a Great Man

The Story of Eliza Hamilton: The Woman Behind a Great Man

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was an American socialite and philanthropist who lived between the 18th and 19th centuries. She is perhaps best-known for being the wife of Alexander Hamilton, one of the...
Discovery of 9,000-Year-Old Female Hunter in Peru Is Rewriting History

Discovery of 9,000-Year-Old Female Hunter in Peru Is Rewriting History

A grave in Peru has been shown to contain the world’s oldest female hunter. This news is potentially explosive. It may change our understanding of gender relations in the ancient Americas and even...
In the face of all the odds, the lives of Empress Nur Jahan and Queen Elizabeth I continue to inspire generations of women, as their strength turned them into feminist icons ahead of their time. Source: Left - Public domain. Right - Public domain.

Empress Nur Jahan and Queen Elizabeth I: Female Icons Ahead of Their Time

Our world has numerous examples of kings who have left a significant impact upon the lives of their people. As the saying goes, “behind every powerful man is an extraordinary woman.” Queen Elizabeth...
Sultan Razia never gave up her rightful place as heir. One Friday, dressed in red, the color of protest, she visited Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque to appeal to her people for justice. Source: kharchenkoirina / Adobe Stock

Sultan Razia: The First and Only Female Royal of Delhi

On the eve of October 1240, two armies faced one another ready for battle. This was a last-ditch effort by Sultan Razia to recapture her throne which had been usurped by her brother. Razia was the...
Painting titled ‘Free Women of Color with their Children and Servants in a Landscape.’ Life changed for American women as the eighteenth century progressed. Source: Public Domain

Culturally Misunderstood: The Struggles and Advances of Early American Women

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw a series of transitions in life in America, as many, particularly women, strove to find their identities in patriarchal society. Early American women were...
Catherine of Valois being presented to King Henry V of England at the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. Original print at the Rijksmuseum. Source: Rijksmuseum / CC0

Catherine of Valois: Political Pawn, Dowager Queen and Life in the Shadows

Catherine of Valois was a French princess who lived during the 15 th century. Catherine is an important female figure in medieval English history, being the wife of one English king, and the mother...
Representation of a Valkyrie

The Bold and Beautiful Valkyries and Their Mortal Lovers

In Norse mythology, Valkyries were originally sinister spirits that would fly above the battlefield in search of the dead, deciding the fate of the fallen for Odin . The word “Valkyrie” means “...
The Maya goddess Ix Chel wearing a coiled snake headdress

Ix Chel’s Coiled Snake Headdress: Sacred Symbol of Maya Women

The coiled snake headdress is a significant artifact connected with Maya women, both ancient and modern. Images of ancient Maya women wearing this distinctive headdress have been found carved on...
Representation of a powerful wife of a Turkish Sultan

Kosem Sultan - The Last Influential Female Ruler of the Ottoman Empire

Kosem Sultan was a woman who refused to be just another widow on the Ottoman court - instead she became a real ruler of the empire. Her decisions made such an impact, that after her death noblemen in...
Researchers are challenging historic gender archetypes, revealing many “battle scars” on skeletal remains pointing to the existence of warrior women. Pictured: skeletons of two people buried in an ancient tomb in Mongolia include a woman (left) who may have been a horse-riding, bow-and-arrow-wielding warrior, scientists say. Source: Christine Lee / California State University

Are Skeletal Wounds On Hunter-Gatherer Women Battle Scars Or Execution Marks?

Historic gender archetypes of hunter-gatherer women are being challenged by a team of researchers whose new study presents further evidence of “warrior women” in prehistory. Traditional...
Representation of a Mongol female warrior / the legendary Mulan.   Source: katalinks / Adobe stock

Ancient Mongolian Female Warrior Skeletons Substantiate Disney’s Mulan

Microscopic marks discovered on the shoulder bones of two ancient female warriors bring the legendary woman warrior, Mulan , from eastern mythology into historical reality. Disney’s 1998 animated...
Traditional Chinese style sculpture depicting a mother and baby. New research on baby teeth suggests gender inequality was present from infancy. Source: junrong /Adobe Stock

Do Ancient Baby Teeth Really Prove Sexism In Ancient China?

Scientists analyzing 2500-year-old baby teeth have revealed evidence of gender inequality during Bronze Age China. Feminism encompasses ideologies to achieve the social, political, and economic...
Depiction of ancient Greek woman.  Source: Algol / Adobe stock

What Was Life Really Like for an Ancient Greek Woman?

The lives of the ancient Greeks were ones of hardship and endurance. The experiences of ancient Greek women were even tougher. If a newly born Greek girl was deemed worthy and not abandoned, their...
Spartan woman in foreground with her warrior husband in the background.   Source: serhiibobyk / Adobe stock

What Makes Spartan Women So Different From Other Ancients?

In Sparta , the individual did not matter. Everything was for the preservation and continuous strengthening of the state. They built no walls since they welcomed any to challenge invasion. They lit...

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