Reading paths
A reading path · 5 women · 10 min

Five women to start with

One per era, one per region. If you only ever read five profiles, read these: a queen who fought Portugal for forty years, a queen mother who besieged the British, a guerrilla who faced the guillotine, a Nobel laureate who planted a forest, and a village girl who became president.

  1. Pre-Colonial · Angola · 1583–1663Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba
    Portrait of Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba

    Start in 1624 Angola, where a queen kept the Portuguese out of Ndongo for four decades.

    2 min
  2. Colonial · Ghana · 1840–1921Yaa Asantewaa
    Portrait of Yaa Asantewaa

    Nzinga fought Portugal for forty years; in 1900 a farmer near sixty led the Ashanti against Britain.

    2 min
  3. Independence · Algeria · 1935–presentDjamila Bouhired
    Portrait of Djamila Bouhired

    Yaa Asantewaa commanded an army; Bouhired carried messages through the Casbah and got a death sentence.

    2 min
  4. Modern · Kenya · 1940–2011Wangari Maathai
    Portrait of Wangari Maathai

    Bouhired saw the flag go up in 1962; Maathai asked what freedom was worth once the forests were gone.

    2 min
  5. Contemporary · Malawi · 1950–presentJoyce Banda
    Portrait of Joyce Banda

    Maathai went from trees to parliament; Banda went from a women's business group to the presidency.

    2 min