In praise of women

Woman has been the primary source of intellectual inspiration for man. When Muhammad was disturbed by the divine voices echoing in his mind and doubted their authenticity, it was Khadija, his wife, who assured him that those voices were indeed from God. She was not only the first woman to embrace Islam but also the first person to accept it from Muhammad.

When Edison was driven out of the school for being ‘unintelligent’, his mother knew that her son was destined to become great — he went on to become arguably the greatest inventor of all time. Napoleon Bonaparte would have remained an ordinary soldier; his mother’s faith in him made a diminutive man to become one of the greatest military geniuses of warfare.

Interestingly, the Romans and Greeks preferred female soldiers. Alexander had an army of female soldiers, who fought alongside men and were often better cavaliers. Roman historian Catallus observed that when women brandished swords as cavaliers sitting on horseback, they could control themselves better than men because of their anatomical advantage. Cleopatra had female soldiers and female generals in her army. She herself was a good swordswoman. Amazon is a Greek word for expert fighter woman.

Closer home, Lakshmibai, Chandbibi of Ahmednagar, Razia Sultan and Chittoor’s Queen Chenamma are examples of valiant female soldiers. Kalhan’s Rajatrangini describes how the king of Kashmir had an army of women. He also had women philosophers in his court.

By: Sumit Paul