Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, a native Hawaiian Kahuna and gifted healer, developed a new system of healing based on the ancient spiritual tradition, Ho’oponopono. An indefatigable educator, Simeona was honored as a Living Treasure of Hawaii. Editor’s Note: There is some controversy over the claims in this guest article – see this comment for details. To […]
Huda Shaarawi, Egyptian feminist & activist
Huda Shaarawi (1879–1947) was an Egyptian feminist who influenced not only women in Egypt but throughout the Arab world. She was a pioneer in feminism, and brought to light the restrictive world of upper-class women in her book The Harem Years, published in 1987. Huda Shaarawi (also spelled Hoda Shaarawi or Sha’arawi) was raised in […]
Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D., America’s first female doctor
Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D. (1821-1910), was the first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States and is often thought of as America’s first woman doctor. A dedicated public health advocate, social reformer, and prolific writer, Blackwell changed the course of modern medicine, founding hospitals and medical colleges for women in the United States […]
Qiu Jin, Chinese feminist & revolutionary martyr
Qiu Jin (1875–1907) was a Chinese writer & poet, a strong-willed feminist who is considered a national hero in China. Also called “Jianhu Nüxia” (Woman Knight of Mirror Lake”), she was executed after participating in a failed uprising against the Qing Dynasty. Qiu Jin was born in 1875 to a family of the gentry, and […]
Gay Allis Rose Clifford, poet & scholar
Gay Allis Rose Clifford (1943-1998) was a poet and a literary theorist whose most influential piece, Transformations of Allegory, has been cited by over a hundred subsequent works and is still a major work today in the field of allegory in literature. Gay Clifford left her mark not only in the world of literature, but […]
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, self-taught scholar and poet of New Spain
Born in New Spain (now Mexico) in 1651, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a nun who wrote what is considered the first feminist manifesto. She was revered as a prodigy during her lifetime, and was one of the most widely published writers of the period. The illegitimate child of a creole woman and […]
Nana Asma’u: princess, poet, reformer of Muslim women’s education
Nana Asma’u (1793-1863) was a princess, poet, and teacher, and is considered the precursor to modern feminism in Africa. She had such an impact of the education of women, that in Nigeria today, many Islamic women’s organisations, schools, and meeting halls are named after her. Nana was a member of the Fodio clan who ruled […]
Enheduanna, ancient high priestess
Enheduanna (2285-2250 BCE) was an Akkadian princess as well as High Priestess of the Moon god Nanna. She was one of the earliest women in history whose name is known. She is regarded by literary and historical scholars as possibly the earliest known author and poet in the world. Her works were written in cuneiform […]
Lady Anne Clifford, patron of the arts
Lady Anne Clifford, (1590–1676) was the only surviving child of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland and his wife Lady Margaret Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford. In 1605, she became the 14th Baroness de Clifford in her own right, and hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland. When her father died in 1605, […]
Meerabai the Poet
That dark dweller in BrajIs my only refuge.O my companion, worldly comfort is an illusion,As soon you get it, it goes.I have chosen the indestructible for my refuge,Him whom the snake of death will not devour.My beloved dwells in my heart all day,I have actually seen that abode of joy.Meera’s lord is Hari, the indestructible.My […]
