As someone who loves history, I have always found it quite upsetting how many times women have been painted as the “bad guy”. Whether it was by men who lived alongside these women or historians many years afterwards, there are so many women that have recieved horrible labels placed on them, or worse, have been completely left out of history even though they were major contributors. I am here to set the record straight and give a few details of the real histories of women who were wronged by men in life and death.
Hatshepsut
If you’ve never heard of Hatshepsut, I don’t blame you, because she has been completely left out of history despite her importance. You see, Hatshepsut was most likely the first female Pharaoh to rule Egypt, but that was not her only contribution to the Egyptian empire. The only way to do Hatshepsut justice is to take a look at all of her incredible accomplishments that male historians have conveniently left out of our history books.
First, it is important to know that Hatshepsut was the eldest of two daughters to Thutmose I. Picture this: Thutmose dies when Hatshepsut is 12-years-old, and she is then married to her half-brother, Thutmose II. They reign together as co-pharaohs until Thutmose II dies around 1492 B.C. Thutmose III (Thutmose II’s son) is next in line for the throne, but at the time of his father’s death he is far too young to rule. Hatshepsut steps forward and proclaims herself regent to the throne until Thutmose III comes of age. This, however, doesn’t last very long, and seven years later, Hatshepsut proclaims herself the Pharaoh of Egypt and takes full power and control over Egypt. Many Egyptologists have said that this decision was purely motivated by the Queen’s ambition, but more recently it has been speculated that a political crisis might’ve actually been the cause. Either way, Hatshepsut becomes the first female Pharaoh to have full power. The next female Pharaoh to do so will be Cleopatra, 14 centuries later.
As Pharaoh, Hatshepsut had tons of very ambitious projects to not only secure her spot as ruler but to also help Egypt. Her most famous endeavor was an enormous memorial temple at Deir el-Bahri which is considered one of the architectural wonders of ancient Egypt. She was also able to bring back vast riches to Egypt from her very successful trading exhibition, including ebony, ivory, gold, leopard skin, and incense. She was able to keep Egypt as a peaceful empire during her reign, ensuring that everyone in her kingdom was safe and happy. To legitimize her rule, she had the paintings and statues made of her depict a beard and masculine features. However, she never hid her gender, and in other depictions, she is seen as the strong female Pharaoh she was.
Unfortunately, after her death in 1458 B.C. her stepson, Thutmose III, and his own son started a campaign to basically wipe her entire existence from Egypts history. He orders almost all of her statues and any images of her as ruler in temples and monuments that she built to be eradicated, erasing her as the strong female ruler that she was. Due to this, historians had no idea of her existence until 1822 when they were able to decode and read the hieroglyphics on the walls of Deir el-Bahri. British archaeologist, Howard Carter, found her sarcophagus in 1903, but Hatshepsut had three prepared for her, and the one he found was empty. It wasn’t until 2007, when a new campaign to find the real sarcophagus that archaeologists found her mummy. Hatshepsut now lies in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which is most likely her final resting place.
My heart broke the first time I learned about this incredible woman and how someone so close to her was the reason for her being left out of history. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the first woman to endure this and definitely wasn’t the last.
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene might not ring a bell if you aren’t Christian, but she was a very important person in Christ’s life. Unfortunately, throughout history she has been ignored, misrepresented, and despised by men for no reason besides her closeness to Christ. Mary Magdalene’s image has been reinvented time and time again, changing her from a devoted follower of Christ to a prostitute to sybil to mystic to celibate nun to passive helpmate to feminist icon to many many more titles pushed onto her by others.
Not much is known of Mary due to the fact that she lived before and during the 1st century CE. With the information we do have from the New Testament of the Bible, we do know that Mary is from a town called Magdala, a village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Mary was a leading figure of devotion to Jesus Christ. When he was abandoned by his male followers at the hour of mortal danger, Mary stayed with him the entire way; she was even present during his crucifixion. She was also there at his tomb when he decided to present himself to her after his resurrection and was the one that first preached the “good news” according to the Bible.
Unfortunately, confusion about Mary’s image was then twisted and misconstrued as time went on. Much of this was due to the changing beliefs of people such as the growing authority of an all-male clergy, enforcing strict sexuality rules, and the patriarchy. The more recent depiction of Mary in a novel turned film shows her as Jesus’ secret wife and mother to his secret daughter, two accusations which are both false. But the first time that she was condemned was in the year 590, when Pope Gregory I decided to proclaim her as nothing more than a whore. The Catholic Church didn’t recant this until 1969.
But why degrade her from a position that rivaled the importance of Peter, the man that would become the first leader of the Christian church? It is quite simple really — men hate women that are in places of power. Mary mattered to Jesus; she was as important to him as he was to her. And unlike many of his male apostles, she didn’t leave his side when the world turned against him. Mary was never a whore, she was never an evil spirit, and she wasn’t Jesus’ secret wife; she was his devoted follower and one that he trusted greatly. That is the title she should have always had.
Mary I
Queen Mary I was the first woman to rule England in her own right. But she didn’t just inherit the throne due to many misfortunes, betrayals, and hardships that she had to endure during her lifetime. Born on February 18, 1515 to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Mary was a disappointment from the moment of her birth. Henry VIII was in desperate need of a male heir, and Mary was the only child of the pair to survive infancy. However, Mary grew up and was a beloved princess in the eyes of the public – that is, until Henry VIII became infatuated with Anne Boylen, which changed everything for Mary and her mother. Suddenly, Mary was proclaimed a bastard and illegitimate.Her status was downgraded from “Princess” to “Lady,” and she was separated from her mother who was cast out of court. For years, Mary refused to accept the divorce of her parents or her father’s new status as head of the Church of England. It wasn’t until her mother’s death in 1536, as well as the execution of Anne Boylen and Henry VIII’s marriage to Jane Seymour, that Mary attempted to fix her relationship with her father.
Much of the misinformation surrounding Mary comes from when she took the throne in 1553 as the first Queen Regnant of England. Mary I was a Catholic, which, after the rule of both her father and younger brother, Edward VI, who were Protestants, made Mary focus on reforming the country back to Catholicism. She greatly prioritized religion during her reign, and it was this prioritization that would later give her the title of “Bloody Mary” (due to her burning 280 Protestants at the stake as heretics). However, this title comes with much malice since Mary I wasn’t any more violent or murderous as many of her male ancestors, including her brother and father.
In reality, Mary I helped the country during her reign greatly. She built up the British Navy as well as the militia, both of which would later help Queen Elizabeth I during the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Mary I also did some very extreme financial reform and set the foundation for much needed change in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, Mary I died at the young age of 42 in 1558. Because she did not have any children, the throne was passed on to her younger half-sister, Elizabeth I. Because Mary had lost much of her autonomy and power due to the men in her life, Elizabeth took that as a lesson, which is believed to be why Elizabeth I decided to never marry and remain a virgin queen.
By the time of her death, Mary I cemented herself as a very important piece in English history. It’s quite unfortunate that she was harmed, degraded, and twisted by men both in life and in death.However, her victories will always rise above these issues. The first Queen of England in her own right, Mary I, will forever be remembered for her strength, determination, and power.
These are only a very few of the many, many women who were wronged by men in history, either during their lifetime or afterwards. It is very unfortunate that for as long as civilization has been around, women have been used, abandoned, and villainized at the hand of insecure men. Women have always been powerful, influential, and necessary to the advancements of humankind, and men have failed to keep them completely out of the history books. I hope that one day, we may never need to disprove the awful claims placed on women and that women are simply just allowed to live, work, and make history as they always have. They say history is written by the winners, and I think it’s more than about time women take that title.