It’s #WomensHistoryMonth, and like in previous years, through the month of March, we will be sharing the stories of historical Asian women.

NH Dini (1936-2018) was an Indonesian feminist writer whose novels tackle on taboo subjects like sensuality & sexuality & feature female characters who rebel against the patriarchal concept of women. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2017/11/27/nh-dini-and-her-endless-soul-searching-journey.html
Obit: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2018/12/05/obituary-nh-dini-indonesian-feminist-literary-figure.html

Shigeko Kubota (1937-2015), Japanese video artist. Like fellow Japanese artist Yoko Ono and Korean artist Nam June Paik, who she'd later marry in the 1970s, Kubota was a prominent member of the anti-art Fluxus movement. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/arts/design/shigeko-kubota-a-creator-of-video-sculptures-dies-at-77.html

Yogmaya Neupane (1860s-1941) was a Nepali religious leader & women's rights activist who gave voice to the voiceless – women, lower castes, the exploited – when the entire country cowered to Rana rulers. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.peacewomen.org/content/nepal-yogmaya-neupane-nepals-first-female-revolutionary

Fu Pei-mei (1931-2004) was the host of Taiwan's first cooking show and remains its most famous culinary figure. She was on television for about 40 years—nearly 2,000 episodes instructing on more than 4,000 Chinese dishes. #WomensHistoryMonth https://www.tastecooking.com/raised-generation-taiwanese-home-cooks-taught-american-kids/

Mah Laqa Bai (1768-1824) was a dancer, courtesan, philanthropist from Hyderabad, and the first female poet to complete a full collection (divan) of Urdu poetry. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://sister-hood.com/sister-hood-staff/mah-laqa-bai-1768-1824/ via @sister_hood_mag

Kim Hak-sun (1924-1997) was a Korean activist and the first survivor ever to give a testimony of her experience as a former "comfort woman," a sex slave for the Japanese military. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://alchetron.com/Kim-Hak-sun#-  https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/10/17/bringing-poetry-to-the-cruel-history-of-comfort-women/

Mena Mangal (1992-2019) was an Afghan journalist, TV presenter & women's rights advocate. She was shot dead days after she finalised her divorce; her family accused her abusive ex-husband of killing her. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/mena-mangal-death-afghanistan-journalist-murder-kabul-a8927131.html
https://www.rferl.org/a/after-killing-of-female-afghan-journalist-suspicion-falls-closer-to-home/29938033.html

Naziq al-Abid (1887-1959) was a Syrian feminist, writer and freedom fighter who volunteered to serve in the Syrian army to fight the French #WomensHistoryMonth
https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=sC-xU8QHSooC&pg=PA360&redir_esc=y&fbclid=IwAR0S7sRn7inie9QowoBm8pqwxUuEKzmDqXCNEkxrfDatUJEzcr2aXqZaE18#v=onepage&q&f=false

Mabel Ping-Hua Lee (1896-1966) was a suffragist who mobilized the Chinese community in America to support women’s right to vote. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.nps.gov/people/mabel-lee.htm
https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/directory/mabel-ping-hua-lee/

Honoria Acosta-Sison (1880-1970) was the first female doctor in the Philippines. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://rizalcenterchicago.org/blog/f/national-heroes-day-august

Ieng Thirith (1932-2015) was the highest-ranking woman in the Khmer Rouge and the "First Lady" of the genocidal regime that oversaw the death of nearly 2 million Cambodians.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/ieng-thirith-scholar-who-became-the-highest-ranked-woman-in-the-khmer-rouge-and-was-later-charged-10470049.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/world/asia/ieng-thirith-khmer-rouge-minister-in-cambodia-dies-at-83.html
#WomensHistoryMonth

Yasmin Ahmad (1958 -2009) was a Malaysian filmmaker whose works explored inter-ethnic and inter-religious relationships, and highlighted gender discrimination in her country. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-film/controversial-malaysian-film-director-yasmindies-idUSTRE56P0DH20090726
https://www.newmandala.org/tribute-to-yasmin-ahmad-malaysian-filmmaker-1958-2009/

Queen Boran (590-632) was the Sasanian queen who reigned from 630 to 632 – one of the few women to rule in Iranian history. #WomensHistoryMonth
Text & pix: Dana Orkideh
https://www.facebook.com/Orkideh84/photos/a.1005321352892035/959810924109745/?type=3&theater

Xiang Jingyu (1895-1928) was a Chinese women's rights activist and the first female member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://time.com/5792627/xiang-jingyu-100-women-of-the-year/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiang_Jingyu

Toregene Khatun (?-1246) was the Great Khatun and regent of the Mongol Empire. #WomensHistoryMonth
IG picture: (a)rebel_women_embroidery
https://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2012/03/women-who-ruled-toregene-khatun-of.html

Laure Moghaizel (1929–1997) was a Lebanese lawyer who believed the advancement of women's rights was part of a broader campaign to strengthen human rights. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laure_Moghaizel

Anandibai Joshi (1865-1887) was India's first female doctor.
#WomensHistoryMonth https://feminisminindia.com/2020/03/09/anandibai-joshi-indianwomeninhistory/ via @FeminismInIndia

Sugako Kanno (1881–1911) was a Japanese anarcho-feminist journalist and the first female political prisoner to be executed in the history of modern Japan. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanno_Sugako

Anita Mui (1963-2003) was Hong Kong's legendary film actor, singer and queen of "Canto-pop". #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/jan/20/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries

Fatima Jinnah (1893-1967) was one of the leading founders of Pakistan, who is affectionately known as "Madar-e-Millat", or Mother of the Nation. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_Jinnah https://historypak.com/fatima-jinnah/ 

Karimeh Abbud (1893-1940) was a Palestinian professional photographer – one of the first female photographers of the 20th century. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karimeh_Abbud
https://www.google.com/doodles/karimeh-abbuds-123rd-birthday

Ho Xuan Huong (1772–1822) was a Vietnamese classical poet, whose works show her to be an independent-minded woman who resisted societal norms. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hồ_Xuân_Hương

Asenath Barzani (1590–1670) was a Kurdish Jewish woman, considered to be the first female rabbi in Jewish history. #WomensHistoryMonth
Pix: Dana Orkideh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asenath_Barzani

Tan Cheng Hiong (1904-1999) was a woman’s rights activist & the first president of the Singapore Council of Women, the pioneering women’s group in the 1950s credited with getting polygamy banned in Singapore. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.swhf.sg/profiles/tan-cheng-hiong/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Cheng_Hiong

Thao Thep Krasattri and Thao Si Sunthon (18th century) were honorary styles given to two Thai sisters, Than Phu Ying Chan and Khun Mook, who defended Mueang Thalang (now Phuket) in the Burmese-Siamese War (1785-1786). #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.facebook.com/TheAsianFeminist/photos/a.1077465782300753/2871997566180890/?type=3&theater

Ludu Daw Amar (1915-2008) was Myanmar’s best known female journalist, publisher and social critic. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www2.irrawaddy.com/article.php?art_id=11330
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/12/burma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludu_Daw_Amar

Chokyi Dronma (1422-1455) was a Tibetan princess and Buddhist leader, one of the few Tibetan women historically to receive full monastic ordination and to spawn an incarnation line. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Chokyi-Dronma/13205
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%B6kyi_Dr%C3%B6nma

Bilge Olgac (1940-1994) was one of Turkey's first female filmmakers – and the most productive woman director in the history of Turkish cinema. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://www.facebook.com/TheAsianFeminist/photos/a.1077465782300753/2878856962161617/

Marta da Silva Merop (1766-1828) was one of Macau’s richest women and a philanthropist. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://macaulifestyle.com/culture/historic-women-in-macau/

Sarah Khatun (15th century) was the first female diplomat not only in Azerbaijan but also in Asia. #WomensHistoryMonth
http://biweekly.ada.edu.az/vol_1_no_6/Sara_Khatun_Azerbaijan_first_female_diplomat.htm
https://www.pressreader.com/azerbaijan/azeri-observer/20130913/282376922267225

Martha Christina Tiahahu (1800-1818) was Indonesia’s Moluccan freedom fighter against the Dutch colonial rule. #WomensHistoryMonth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Christina_Tiahahu