It’s Remembrance Day in Canada and Veteran’s Day for Americans. But no matter what we call it, it’s a day to remember those who have fought and died for their countries’ freedoms.
This year, let’s remember the women in war, too. After all, some of those warriors, soldiers, freedom fighters, spies, and military commanders are, and have always been, women. Women like:
Fu Hao (1200s BCE)
Fu Hao was a warrior queen and female general of the Shang dynasty, in what’s now China. The records of her exploits on the battlefield are not only proof that women can lead troops in combat, they’re the earliest written records in human military history.
Birka Woman (1000s CE)
When they discovered a Viking Age grave containing weapons, horses, and other military equipment, 19th century archaeologists “naturally” assumed the buried warrior was a man. Imagine the dismay when both bones and DNA proved the body in the grave was biologically female.
Qutulun (~1260-1306 CE)
This Mongolian warrior princess helped defend her father’s lands against a rival emperor. Marco Polo was only one of the men who got her story wrong.
La Chevalière d’Éon (1728-1810)
A soldier and spy for King Louis XV of France, d’Éon lived the first half of life as a man and the second as a woman. After embracing her female gender identity, d’Éon continued wearing her military medal — and won countless fencing contests while dressed in ankle-length skirts!
Juana Azurduy de Padilla (~1780-1862)
Daughter of a Spanish colonist and a local Indigenous woman, Juana was a driving force in the Bolivian and Argentinian wars of independence. According to some accounts, she gave birth on the battlefield… and when her husband was captured and executed by the enemy, led a daring raid to reclaim his body.
Noor Inayat Khan (1914-1944)
Noor was a children’s author who joined the all-new Special Operations Executive during World War II. One of the most effective undercover wireless operators in German-occupied France, this unlikely spy sent coded messages that helped with plans for the D-Day invasion, turning the tide of the war.
All of these remarkable women are featured in my new children’s biography collection, THE MATILDA EFFECT: HOW 25 WOMEN WERE ERASED FROM HISTORY. If you’re looking for books about women in war that were written for adults, I recommend these:
