Comics Soraya Tarzi (1899-1968) The Human Rights Queen of Afghanistan 1920s Afghanistan was a progressive and rapidly-modernizing country in large part to the most powerful, empathic, and maligned queen it had ever seen.
Juleidah The Princess in the Leather Burqa When her father decided to marry her, this leather-clad princess embarked on one of the most bonkers Cinderella tales ever told.
Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904) The Undefinable Adventurer This undefinable adventurer's life burnt bright but short: a wildcard of the Algerian revolution, she survived an assassination attempt by sabre, and died in a freak desert flood.
Naziq al-Abid (1898-1959) The Sword of Damascus She traded a life of privilege for one spent fighting for justice on both literal and political battlefields so tirelessly that even exiling her five times couldn't keep her down.
Noor Inayat Khan (1914-1944) The Spy Princess Pacifist Indian princess who gave up everything of herself to hold the line in occupied Paris during World War 2.
Shajar al-Durr (1220s?-1257) King-ransoming Sultan Muslim sultan who took the throne, defeated Louis IX in battle, ransomed him back to France for 30% of their GDP --- and did it all in secret.
Cut Nyak Dhien (1848-1908) The Mother of Indonesian Revolution When her (second) rebel husband was killed, this heroine of Indonesian revolution took over the fight against the Dutch.
Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) Mother of Pakistan The exiled daughter of a deposed ruler, she could have been a fairytale bridge between worlds - but fairy tales are not real. Benazir, whose name means "without flaw," was anything but.
Arwa al-Sulayhi (c.1048-1131) The Mother of Yemen's Golden Age The greatest ruler of Yemeni history, she defeated her numerous foes to usher the country into its golden age.
Marjana (Arabian myth) The Slave Girl Who Killed Ali Baba's Forty Thieves The actual hero of the Ali Baba myth, this slave girl saves the titular character by singlehandedly dispatching the forty thieves - without him even knowing.