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For Women’s History Month, it is important to highlight the contributions of women across society. It is also important to remember women throughout history and understand that while many history texts would have us remember them simply as wives and mothers, women of the past were rulers, warriors and cultural leaders who shaped the world in indelible ways. Many of us are familiar with the likes of Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great, but here some other women the world should get to know a bit better.
We are giving these examples because they are unique, unheard of and can be used in your answers well.
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Empress Theodora: saviour of the crown
A Greek Cypriot woman born in 497 to a bear-keeper and an actress, Empress Theodora worked on stage herself and also likely as a prostitute (a common side business for actresses at the time) before becoming the empress of the Byzantine Empire. She went on to become the wife of Justinian I and was considered by many at the time, and by historians now, to be a co-ruler of the empire.
In fact, many credit her with saving Justinian’s rule during a revolt where his advisers urged him to flee his capital. Theodora demanded he stay and save his crown, after which he dispatched the rebels and solidified control with Theodora by his side. As empress, she had a particular focus on improving the situation of women in the empire, reforming divorce laws in women’s favour, increasing the penalties for rape, punishing the trafficking of young girls and supporting the rights of sex workers.
Queen Liliʻuokalani: advocate for Hawaiian sovereignty
As the last queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii (and its only reigning queen), Queen Liliʻuokalani fought hard to maintain independence for her country in the face of American imperialism. An educated woman, she traveled the world to promote Hawaii’s interests, even meeting the UK’s Queen Victoria at her Golden Jubilee.
She was an avid promoter of Hawaiian culture, writing the Aloha Oe, a song now synonymous with the tropical island chain. After an 1893 coup by American agitators and Hawaii’s annexation by the US, Liliʻuokalani remained an advocate for Hawaiian sovereignty until her death. Her home in downtown Honolulu, Iolani Palace, is the only royal palace in the US.
Empress Wu Zetian: a singular Chinese monarch
The only woman to rule China in her own right starting in 690, Empress Wu Zetian was a highly effective leader during the Tang dynasty, China’s golden age. Her reforms inspired the structure of Chinese governments for generations after, and she built a strong imperial state. She shifted the emphasis for recruiting senior government officials away from personal ties to focus on education levels and intellect.
She also expanded the size of the empire and exercised great influence over neighbouring empires in Korea and Japan. Her economic policies brought great wealth to the country, and she was a patron of the arts and education. She also elevated the position of women in society and encouraged the study of the lives of prominent women to emphasise their importance to Tang society. She died an immensely popular ruler with a rich legacy.
Yaa Asantewaa: protector of Ghanian culture
Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa of Ejisu in the Asante Empire, now modern-day Ghana, was a formidable woman who protected the most important elements of her culture from colonial invaders. When the British captured a group of Asante rulers in an attempt to fully subjugate them under imperial rule, they also demanded the Asante present them with the Golden Stool, a symbol of Asante royalty and the nation’s most sacred object. Many of the male chiefs were prepared to accede to British demands, but Yaa Asantewaa refused, allegedly saying: “If you, the men of Asante, will not go forward, then we will. I shall call upon my fellow women.”
Yaa Asantewaa rallied her people and commanded the Asante’s troops during the final war of independence against the British in 1900 to prevent the domination of the Asante people and preserve the sanctity of the Golden Stool. In the end, the British were victorious, and even though she died in 1921, she was an influential figure in the nationalist movement of Ghana when it gained independence in 1957.
The Trung sisters: national heroines of Vietnam
The Trung Sisters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, are national heroines in Vietnam for rebelling against domination by the Chinese empire. Born around 1 AD, the Trung sisters were raised at a time of relative freedom for women in Vietnam where they could serve as judges and soldiers, and had equal rights over property and inherited land. During a time when the Chinese exercised relatively loose, but tightening, control over Vietnam, Trung Trac’s husband was executed for disagreeing with the Chinese governor.
In the aftermath, the sisters raised an army of 80,000 people to eject imperial China. Commanding from elephant-back, their army, which included many women as well as their mother, drove the Chinese from northern Vietnam. The sisters ruled the country for three years until the Chinese invaded and retook Vietnam. Legend has it that rather than surrendering to the Chinese, the sisters committed suicide by jumping into a river.
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- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)