Before the Hashtag: Feminist Voices from the Ancient to Early Modern World

Long before feminism had a name, women were writing it. From Margery Kempe’s unruly confessions to Táhirih’s revolutionary poetry in Qajar Iran, female voices across the globe defied silence. Nana Asma’u educated women in 19th-century Nigeria, Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya penned mystic verse in 8th-century Iraq, and Sor Juana challenged patriarchy with poetry. These weren’t footnotes in history—they were its uncredited authors.