12 Great African Women In History You Should Know

April 27, 2014 | Posted by Runoko Rashidi 4

As a Black man and an African historian, I have found that one of the most inspi
ring aspects in the annals of humankind is the outstanding role of African women
and their contributions to history. In this brief article, we highlight and pay
tribute to some of the greatest of these women.
AHMOSE-NEFERTARIQueen Ahmose-Nefertari (circa 1570-1530 B.C.) was an active part
icipant, along with her husband King Ahmose, in the final defeat and ejection fr
om Africa of the hated Hyksos invaders and occupiers. As such, she was regarded
as a national hero and one of the outstanding figures in African history. Indeed
, she was a co-founder of the glorious 18th dynasty of Kmt
called The greatest ro
yal family that ever mounted a throne.
Ahmose-Nefertari was born a royal heiress to the thone and became one of Kmt s mos
t beloved and audacious women. After her husband s brilliant reign, she ruled the
land with her son, King Amenhotep I.
It would not be inaccurate to say that Ahmose-Nefertari was venerated, a practic
e that continued for more than 600 years after her death. To her memory was atta
ched a special priesthood, who recited in her honor a prayer only used in addres
sing the pantheon of the most powerful deities in the land. Ahmose-Nefertari was
titled God s Wife of Amen and held a position as a priestess in the national religi
ous center. It is interesting too that the surviving portraits of Ahmose-Neferta
ri are all painted Black a sign further illustrating her great prominence.
Dahia al-Kahina, in what is now Algeria, at the end of the seventh century was e
specially active in the North African resistance to the Arab invasions of Africa
. Around the year 690, she took personal command of the African armies. Under he
r vigilant direction and leadership, the Arab legions were forced to retreat, re
group and reassess their strategy and tactics for the invasion of North Africa.
The Arabs were intent on occupying Africa, however, and as the military situatio
n of the Africans deteriorated, the determed Kahina instituted a scorched earth
policy of destruction. Her posture was that she would rather see the destruction
of the land rather than cede it to invaders. Sadly, the effects of the devastat
ion can still be seen today in the North African countryside.
Based on tradition, Dahia al-Kahina eventually took her own life rather than acc
ept defeat at the hands of the Arabs. Her sons went on to help lead the Moorish
invasion of Spain. But with the death of this bold African woman ended what was
perhaps the most determined and inspiring chapter in the effort to preserve Afr
ica for the Africans.
Nzingha, also known as Ann Nzingha, is the great national figure of precolonical
Angola. The extraordinary scholar John Henrik Clarke referenced her as the great
est military strategist that ever confronted the armed forces of Portugal. Nzingh
a was born in Central Africa around 1582 and her brilliance was recognized early
on. The fact that she was a woman was not an impediment to her ability to lead.
Toward the middle of her life, she became increasingly aggressive in her desire
to maintain the power and dignity of the people of Central Africa. Indeed, her
military campaigns kept the Portuguese in Africa at bay for more than four decad
es. Her goal was the final and complete eradication of the Portuguese capture an
d enslavement of African people.
Nzingha sent ambassadors and representatives throughout West and Central Africa
with the goal of building a massive coalition of Africans to eject the Portugues
e.

Nzingha died fighting for her people in 1663 at the ripe old age of 81.
The 20-year
about 1500
is a golden
tremendous

reign of the outstanding female monarch Makare Hatshepsut, beginning

B.C., occurred near the pinnacle of Ancient Egypt. This time period
age in the long history of African people. It was a period marked by
internal stability and a time of great international prestige.

One of Hatshepsut s grandest accomplishments was a splendid expedition to the Afri

can land of Punt regarded by the Kamites as God s land. The land of Punt was in the
Horn of Africa, probably encompassing part of Somalia, Eritrea and even Yemen ac
ross the Red Sea in the Arabian Peninsula. A journey to Punt was perhaps the gr
eatest of achievements for the monarchs of Kmt.
Eti was the queen of Punt at the beginning of the 15 century B.C. The products o
f Punt included ebony, frankincense and myrrh. Eti, a large heavy-set woman, was
famously depicted in a procession with Perehu, the king of Punt, on the walls o
f Makare Hatshepsut s mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. The original depiction is
now located in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri
Princess Neferure was the daughter of Hatshepsut. Neferure was raised by the ste
ward Senenmut. Several block statues of Senenmut exist with the head of Princess
Neferure emerging from the block. Neferure has the titles: King s Daughter and
ife.
Makare Hatshepsut s royal titles included: King of the North and South, Son of the
Sun, The Heru of Gold, Bestower of Years, Goddess of Risings, Conqueror of all
Lands, Lady of both Lands, Vivifier of Years, Chief Spouse of Amen, the Mighty O
ne.
Makare Hatshepsut was one of the mightiest of African women.
During the 10th century B.C. we hear of the deeds of Makeda
a near-legendary Afr
ican woman. This queen had the qualities of an outstanding ruler and seems to ha
ve governed over a prosperous land encompassing parts of both East Africa and So
uthwest Asia. In the Quran, she is known as Bilqis, in the great epic of Ethiopi
a called the Kebra Negshe is called Makeda, and in the Bible and in the popular
imagination of the Western world she is known as the Queen of Sheba. These texts
show an unmistakable image of a well-developed land characterized by the elevat
ed overall posture of women. And Makeda was not an isolated phenomenon. Either t
heir deeds or inheritance or both enabled such Black women to stand out singular
ly and individually.
Queen Tiye was the beloved wife of King Nebmare Amenhotep III, the mother of Kin
g Amenhotep IV (who as Akhenaten is one of the most significant figures in all o
f human history) and the mother or grandmother of Tutankhamen perhaps the most fam
ous king to emerge from the ancient world.
Tiye is one of the most interesting figures in history, even in the realm of lov
e and romance. Amenhotep III and Tiye married while quite young and shared one o
f the great love affairs of the ages. The colossal statue of Amenhotep III and T
iye found at the temple of Medinet Habu is Luxor, Egypt demonstates a degree of
love and respect that probably has no equal.
That Tiye was of great ability and powerful influence is proved by association w
ith her husband in all of his ceremonial records. She was such an integral part
of Africa affairs that in more than one instance foreign sovereigns appealed to
her directly in matters of international importance.

God s W

The surviving depictions of Tiye show her with distinct African features. And t
hese depictions are numerous, found now in museums in New York City, Paris, Brus
sels and Berlin. Indeed, there are probably more depictions of Queen Tiye than
any African woman from ancient times.
It was in 180 C.E. that the first known Christian martyrs of Africa were execute
d. One of the most famous and most outstanding acts of martyrdom, however, occu
rred in the year 203 C.E. and centers around two young incredibly brave African
women Perpetua and Felicity. The account of their deaths, known as The Martyrdom of
Perpetua and Felicity, was so inspiring and popular in the early centuries that
it was read during liturgies.
In the year 203 C.E., Perpetua made the decision to become a Christian, although
she knew it could mean her death. Her father was frantic with worry and tried
to talk her out of her decision. His motivation is understandable for at 22 yea
rs of age, this well-educated, high-spirited woman had every reason to want to l
ive including an infant son whom she was still nursing.
Perpetua was arrested with four others, including Felicity, another African woma
n. Perpetua was baptized before being taken to prison a prison that was so crowde
d with people that the heat was suffocating. For Felicity it was even worse as
she suffered from the stifling heat, overcrowding, and rough handling while she
was eight months pregnant.
The officers of the prison began to recognize the power, faith, strength and lea
dership of Perpetua and the warden himself became a believer. There was a feast
the day before the public spectacle so that the crowd could see the martyrs and
make fun of them. But the martyrs turned this all around by laughing at the cro
wd for not being Christians and exhorting them to follow their example.
Bears, leopards, and wild boars attacked the men while the women were stripped t
o face a wild cow. When the assembled crowd, however, saw the two African young
women, one of whom had obviously just given birth, milk running from her breasts
, they were horrified and ashamed, and the two women were removed from the arena
and clothed again. In spite of everything, however, Perpetua and Felicity were
thrown roughly and brutally back into the arena. Regardless of her own pain and
suffering though, Perpetua, filled with compassion and still thinking of others
, went to help Felicity to her feet. The two then stood side-by-side, dignity in
tact, heads raised high as all of the martyrs assembled in the arena had their t
hroats cut.
Neithhotep, circa 3200 BCE, is credited as the first queen of Kmt (ancient Egypt
), cofounder of the First Dynasty, and the earliest African queen whose name is
known. You could even say that she reigns as a kind of godmother of Kmt the greate
st nation in the ancient world.
Neithhotep means the goddess Neith is Satisfied. Neithhotep s dynastic marriage to K
ing Narmer represents the start of the Early Dynastic Period of Kmt and the unif
ication of the Two Lands of Lower and Upper Kmt. Neithhotep s name was found in s
everal locations, particularly at ancient Naqada and in the general vicinity at
the site of the royal tombs in Umm el-Qaab. Her titles were Foremost of Women and C
onsort of the Two Ladies. Both were titles given to queens during the First Dynas
ty of Kmt.
The woman named Hypatia was a notable scholar, teacher and intellectual born aro
und 360 CE and died in March 415 CE. She is regarded as the world s first outstan
ding woman in mathematics and one of the most interesting personalities from the
world of antiquity. In addition to mathematics, she also taught philosophy and
astronomy.

Hypatia lived during the time of the Roman domination of Egypt and was killed by
a mob fanatical Christians on the streets of Alexandria. Mathematics has a lon
g and distinquished tradition in Africa and she is said to have belonged to the
mathematical tradition passed down to the Greeks of the Academy of Athens. Hypa
tia was the daughter of the man named Theon, the last known mathematician associ
ated with the Museum of Alexandria.
The great African woman called Amina Sukhera was a princess of Zazzau (now Zaria
), in what is now northern Nigeria. She was born near the year 1533 and died abo
ut the year 1610. The Arabic name Amina means truthful, trustworthy and honest.
Amina Sukhera was a fierce warrior. According to tradition, as a child, Amina s gr
andmother once caught her holding a dagger. As an adult, Amina refused to marry
, and helped Zazzau (Zaria) become a focal point for trade and commercial activi
ty. She also expanded its territory. The introduction of kola nuts into cultiva
tion in the area is attributed to Amina. A statue at Amina at the National Arts
Theatre in Lagos, Nigeria, honors her, and numerous educational institutions bea
r her name.

Luzia is the name for the skeleton of a prehistoric woman found in a cave in Bra
zil, South America. Some archaeologists believe she may have been part of the fi
rst wave of immigrants to journey from Africa to South America. Nicknamed Luzia
(her name pays homage to the famous African fossil Lucy, who lived 3.4 million yea
rs ago), the 11,500 year-old skeleton was found in Lapa Vermelha, Brazil, in 197
5. The skull itself was buried under more than forty feet of mineral deposits an
d debris separated from the rest of the skeleton but in surprisingly good condition.
There were no other human remains at the site. So we can say that the woman dub
bed Luzia was an African woman in the Americas long before the advent of enslave
ment.
*Runoko Rashidi is a noted historian, a world traveler and the author or editor
of several books. He is currently coordinating African heritage tours to many p
arts of the world. For more information please write to Runoko@yahoo.com or go
to www.travelwithrunoko.com