DYNAMIC AFRICA

nomadamsterdam:

Arawelo was a queen who ruled over what is today known as Somalia. Her throne was passed down by an unknown next of kin, though many version of her suggested that it was her niece, Araxsan.

She was the first born of three daughters and natural heir to the dynasty. Like many female rulers, Arawelo fought for female empowerment; she believed society should be based on a matriarchy.

Arawelo was known to castrate male prisoners and she is one of the earliest female rulers in the world who was also a figure of female empowerment. The queen was well known throughout Africa, and the Queen of Sheba was said to send gifts in the form of gold coins as a congratulatory gesture, although she is usually placed in the 10th century BC.

The queen was well known for defying gender roles, and in the case of the Buraan droughts (before she was queen) she and a team of women prevented the town from starvation and migration by hunting and fetching water.

Arawelo’s husband objected to her self-ascribed role as the breadwinner to all of society, as he thought women should be restrict themselves to merely domestic duties about the house and leave everything else to men.

In response, Arawelo demanded that all women across the land abandon their womanly role in society, then she started hanging men by their testicles. The strike was successful in forcing men into the role of child rearing and to create a role reversal in society.

Arawelo saw women as natural peacekeepers so in her eyes a role reverse was necessary. Growing up she noticed that men were more often once instigators, participators and conductors of war. She did not only fight for the liberation of women in deudal society but for the dominance of women as she saw them as better, more efficient leaders.