Unsung Women in History
In a world where kings lead empires, governments are run by men, and revolutions are remembered through the names of generals, the work of women remains overshadowed, undervalued, and ignored. To such an extent that many believe true feminism is a creation of today. The truth is more unsettling and more inspiring: women were always there, shaping cultures, leading revolutions, writing poetry, and healing communities. It is not that they lacked voices; it is that history chose not to echo them.
The Myth
The prevailing opinion is that women waited their turn and earned their place in society through suffrage and years of oppression, which ultimately led to revolutions. But what if this belief itself is the illusion created by silence? Women were never absent. Enheduanna, a Sumerian priestess in the 23rd century BCE, composed hymns that shaped spiritual life in Mesopotamia and became the world’s first known author. Hypatia of Alexandria, a philosopher and mathematician in the 4th century, taught astronomy and Neoplatonism until her brutal murder for daring to be publicly appreciated. The work was undeniable, yet in the way history has been told, they became exceptions instead of representatives of a wider truth: women were always part of the story, just not credited as storytellers.
Why the Silence?
Silence is not intentional- the women of the past were never in power, and those who did were shut down.
Men, as the dominant record-keepers, decided what was monumental. Wars, treaties, technologies, and
dynasties were “worthy” of preservation. The main influences of women, such as education, sustenance,
and caregiving, were all regarded as “ordinary.”
Ask yourself this, though: in times of hardship, what is more “monumental” than keeping a community alive in famine? Than passing down knowledge when institutions denied you literacy?
The most agonizing truth of all is perhaps this: the society directed by men valued the personality traits typical of them over those of women. Destruction over creation. Power over care. Cleverness over kindness. And so, a system that only allowed measurement for specific things diminished the role of women, not because of its lack of importance, but because it became a regularity. A “great” man does things a regular woman does. If history had been measured by endurance instead of conquest, by nurture instead of dominion, society would have carved women in stone as readily as generals.
A stage for those on the sidelines
Mary Wollstonecraft: In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, a manifesto that rattled the foundations of her society. At a time when women were dismissed as intellectually inferior, Wollstonecraft dared to insist that education was a birthright, not a privilege. In her time, men disgraced her memory, but she remains an inspiration. Wollstonecraft laid the groundwork for many major feminist movements that have emerged worldwide. Her courage lies in her dare to dream a world with equality.
Ada Lovelace: Known as the world’s first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace was ahead of her time, envisioning possibilities that came into existence decades later. She laid the groundwork for the digital revolution by predicting that computers could do much more beyond calculations. She believed they might compose music, create art, and extend human thought. Science, especially as a male-dominated field, was where she became the first of so many remarkable women who altered science as we know it today.
The First Suffragists: The women who risked everything—livelihoods, imprisonment, and death —went down in history refusing to be silenced. The women, including Emmeline Pankhurst, Susan B. Anthony, and countless others, dared to demand voting rights at various times across the world. Their persistence cracked open democracy, allowing those who came after them to be acknowledged, if not fully heard. Today, when voting feels ordinary, it’s worth remembering that women once risked everything for the right to mark a ballot.
Modern Reckoning
Today, we acknowledge and appreciate more and more of the women who made it possible for our names to shine, not for the pursuit of academic excellence and integrity but for the imagining of new possibilities. When learning that the first author or programmer in the world was a woman, a girl can feel part of an everlasting legacy. The act of remembering is part of a greater justice that women were denied for centuries. Call it a correction, a way of revoking the errors. But to some, it is a promise that sometime in history someone will know your story. You will have left an impact on the world that goes beyond the understanding of even the most simple-minded individual.
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