Q1.
Recall the names of other women from history that you have met so far who went against the grain. What was their motivation?
Answer
Begin with the three in this chapter itself, then reach back into what you have read earlier.
| Who | What she went against | Her motivation |
|---|---|---|
| Razia Sultan first half of the 13th century | The first and only female ruler of the Delhi Sultanate; she faced fierce opposition from nobles who objected to a woman ruler, and she broke tradition by appearing unveiled at court and addressing the public directly | To rule properly rather than nominally. She led military campaigns in person, founded educational institutions across Delhi and insisted on a merit-based administration — a ruler cannot do those things from behind a curtain |
| Nur Jahan early 17th century | Women of royal Muslim households were generally secluded; she issued royal orders, attended court meetings and had coins minted in her name | Ability and interest, backed by the emperor’s trust — and, the chapter suggests, a real appetite for governance, art, architecture and trade |
| Tirumalamba 16th century | Scholarship in Sanskrit kāvya was overwhelmingly a male preserve; she was a celebrated poet at Achyutadevaraya’s court, a polymath and a polyglot, and wrote Varadambika Parinaya | Learning itself, and the confidence of a court where kings and queens were themselves poets |
| Mirabai Rajasthan | A woman of a royal household who took the path of a wandering devotee and sang her devotion in public | Devotion — the bhakti mārga needs no priest and no permission, which is exactly what let a woman take it |
You will also have met, in Part 1 and in earlier grades, women such as the Vedic scholars Gargi and Maitreyi, who questioned in assemblies of learned men; the queens of Vijayanagara who issued grants in their own names; and later figures like Rani Lakshmibai. Add to the table whichever ones your class has actually studied — the point is the pattern, not the length of the list.
The pattern in the motivations: none of these women set out to break a rule for its own sake. Each was doing something she was good at — ruling, governing, writing, worshipping — and the rule stood in the way. That is what “going against the grain” usually means in history: not rebellion as a goal, but competence that a custom had no room for.
And the cost: the chapter is blunt about it. Razia’s ‘rebellious’ acts “ultimately contributed to fuelling a conspiracy that ended her brief reign”. Recording what it cost is part of recording what she did.