Ask anyone what they know about Sri Lanka and chances are, they may tell you that it’s the source of some of the world’s best tea. You may also hear that the country is famous for its love of cricket and for its stunning landscapes and scenery. But you will rarely, if ever hear, that […]
Anita Berber: The Naked Dancer of Weimar Berlin
Anita Berber was a pioneering and controversial dancer from Germany. She had an eventful life, finding success on stage and screen (not to mention in her love life) during the Great War before ultimately meeting her end too soon. A Stormy Background It is something of a convention, when talking about a notorious celebrity of […]
Drowned in History: Malay’s Earliest Known Feminist Writer
Most people don’t know the existence of Raja Aisyah Sulaiman, yet if people were prompted with the question of writers that preached feminism in their works, a daring Southeast Asian woman would most likely not be the first person to run in your mind. Raja Aisyah is praised today by literature scholars for having progressive […]
The Warrior Queen Chand Bibi
Every empire in the pages of history has witnessed female warriors who wielded weapons against their enemies. These “warrior queens” proved to be mighty heroines and acts as an inspiration to all the women in the world. But not many remember these heroines from the past and their legacy is often forgotten. The vast civilization […]
Bess of Hardwick: The Second Wealthiest Woman in Tudor England (After the Queen)
Elizabeth Hardwick, better known as Bess of Hardwick, was the daughter of John Hardwick (b. 1495 – d. 29 Jan 1528) and Elizabeth Leake (b. 1499 – d. 1570). The finer details of her early life remain a bit of a mystery though and there isn’t much for us to delve into there. We do […]
Fannie Farmer, the mother of level measurements
Fannie Farmer was a teacher and the author of the innovative Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, the first cookbook to use strict standardized measurements.
Alice Freeman Palmer, Pioneer of Women’s Education
Alice Freeman Palmer was among the most influential people who expanded the academic horizons for women in the USA.
Lin Siniang: Marshalling Spear and Sword
Lin Siniang was a Ming Dynasty warrior who trained up an army of women and sacrificed her life to save her king, dying at the young age of 15.
“Pleading the Belly”: Pregnancy & Execution
Since the Middle Ages, a woman sentenced to death could delay her execution if she was found to be pregnant. This practice was called “pleading the belly” – but it didn’t always work.
Equal Under the Law: Married Women’s Property Acts in the United Kingdom
The Married Women’s Property Acts in the UK helped women finally began moving towards equality, and paved the way for women’s suffrage after the turn of the 19th century.