"Africans have been starved of historical figures from their own lands that they can look up to"

PAULA AKPAN speaks to Danny Bird about powerful African woman leaders and the complexities of interrogating historical narratives, colonial biases and these women's own flaws

- PAULA AKPAN

Danny Bird At the heart of your book are a dozen African women, many of whom held immense power and high social standing. Who were they, and when did they live?

Paula Akpan I've traced the lives of 12 formidable women over the past millennium. The earliest was Princess Morèmí of Offa, who rose to rule in Ilé-Ifè, in what's now Nigeria, in the 12th century. From there, we journey through time and across regions, weaving together stories of power, resistance and legacy.

Another key figure is the 17th-century Queen Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba - territories today in northern Angola. A master strategist and diplomatic force, they blurred gender conventions: they insisted on being addressed as both king and queen, asserting their sovereignty in a male-dominated world.

We also encounter Ranavalona I of the kingdom of Imerina, encompassing much of the island of Madagascar. History remembers her as a fearsome ruler vilified even by her own people, largely due to her aggressive stand against Christianity and European imperialism - policies that reportedly resulted in the population of her realm plummeting by half during her reign in the 19th century.

Yet the narrative is not solely about feared rulers. Other women are revered as icons of resistance: Nana Yaa Asantewaa of present-day Ghana, for example, who led the people of the ancient Asante town of Edweso in defiance of British colonisers. Her fight to protect the sacred Golden Stool, a symbol of Asante sovereignty, remains a powerful moment in the anti-colonial struggle.