African Women Who Fought for Anti-colonial Resistance
9 women in the archive worked for anti-colonial resistance. They came from different countries and different centuries, but each of them saw a wrong that others accepted and set out to change it. Read their stories to see how the same cause looked from very different lives.
9 women in the archive
IndependenceDeolinda Rodrigues
Angolan revolutionary, poet and translator who corresponded with Martin Luther King Jr., co-founded the MPLA's women's organisation, marched with the guerrilla Camy Squadron, and was captured and executed at 29. Angola marks Women's Day on the date of her capture.
Pre-ColonialKandake Amanirenas
Queen of the Kingdom of Kush who led her armies against the Roman Empire, famously defeating Roman forces in battle and negotiating a peace treaty that kept her kingdom independent for generations.
ColonialLalla Fatma N'Soumer
Algerian resistance leader who commanded Kabyle forces against the French colonial invasion in the 1850s, becoming one of North Africa's most celebrated anti-colonial warriors.
IndependenceMuthoni Kirima
The only woman to reach the rank of Field Marshal in Kenya's Mau Mau uprising, who fought British colonial rule from the forests of Mount Kenya. She spent the rest of her life demanding that her country honour the freedom fighters it chose to forget.
ColonialNdaté Yalla Mbodj
The last great queen of Waalo in northern Senegal, who governed, taxed and went to war against French expansion in the 1850s. Defeated but never forgotten, she is one of Senegal's enduring symbols of resistance and female sovereignty.
Pre-ColonialNzinga of Ndongo and Matamba
Queen of Ndongo and Matamba who resisted Portuguese colonisation and the slave trade for four decades through diplomacy, alliance-building, and military leadership.
IndependenceSally Mugabe
First wife of Robert Mugabe; teacher and activist who supported the liberation struggle from exile. First Lady of Zimbabwe (1980–1992); advocated for refugees and education.
ColonialSarraounia Mangou
Azna warrior-queen and priestess of Lougou who, in 1899, stood against one of the most violent French military columns ever sent into Africa and refused to surrender her people. Her defiance became a Nigerien legend and an award-winning film.
ColonialTaytu Betul
Empress of Ethiopia (1889–1913) who co-ruled with Menelik II. Key figure in the Battle of Adwa and in resisting Italian colonisation; founded Addis Ababa.