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How the History We Learn Is Wrong

Why are there only men in my history textbook?”

That simple question from a 9th-grade girl stopped me in my tracks. She’s the daughter of a friend, a bright and curious student, and when she asked me this, I felt both proud and heartbroken.

Proud, because she noticed something most people don’t. Heartbroken, because she’s right.

Open any history textbook in India — or almost anywhere — and you’ll find the pages dominated by kings, wars, revolutions, treaties, and powerful men. Women are there too, but they appear like footnotes — exceptions rather than rule-makers. Rani Lakshmibai rides in for a few paragraphs, Savitribai Phule is mentioned briefly, maybe Mother Teresa finds a line or two. But what about the countless other women who shaped society, led revolts, taught generations, raised communities, challenged systems?

They’re missing.

And that’s no accident.

History is not just a record of events — it’s a selective storytelling project. And for centuries, that storytelling has been controlled by men in power.

“History is written by the victors,” they say. But more precisely — history has been written by men, about men, and for men.

Where Are the Women in Our History Books?

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Let’s return to the question asked by that 9th-grade student. In her textbook of over 500 pages, she could count the women mentioned on one hand. Think about that.

Where are the rest?

Where are the stories of Fatima Sheikh, one of India’s first Muslim female teachers and education reformers? Where is Rani Chenamma of Kittur, who rebelled against British rule before Lakshmibai? Where is Ahilyabai Holkar, the visionary ruler who rebuilt temples across India and led with justice and compassion? Where are the names of the thousands of nameless women who marched, rebelled, wrote, healed, taught, and resisted?

History didn’t forget these women. It chose not to remember them.

Feminism Isn’t New — It Was Just Never Acknowledged

Feminism is often painted as a modern Western concept. That’s misleading — and frankly, insulting to the women of our own past.

During the Vedic period, women like Gargi and Maitreyi were philosophers and scholars, debating in public forums and writing hymns. They were not only present in intellectual spaces — they led them.

But over time, the rise of patriarchy pushed women into the shadows. Education was taken away. Inheritance was denied. Voices were silenced. Power was consolidated by men, and slowly, the idea of a “woman leader” became abnormal.

Still, women resisted. Rani Lakshmibai didn’t ask for permission to fight. Savitribai Phule didn’t need society’s approval to teach. Women across time kept fighting, kept organizing, kept nurturing the roots of equality even when no one gave them credit.

History Is Patriarchal — And It Shapes Our Thinking

The problem isn’t just that women are missing from history books. The real danger is that this absence teaches children — both girls and boys — that women didn’t do anything important. That they were bystanders in the making of the world.

“What we choose to teach shapes what children choose to value.”

When boys grow up only reading about male warriors, rulers, and thinkers, they subconsciously absorb the idea that leadership, intellect, and power are male domains. When girls grow up without female role models in their history books, they begin to doubt their own potential.

This is not just a gender issue. It’s a societal one. Erasing women from history is like building a house on half a foundation — it can’t stand strong, and it certainly can’t hold everyone.

Feminism in Daily Life Begins in the Classroom

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We often talk about feminism in the context of protests, policies, or campaigns. But the roots of feminism — of equality and justice — begin in the everyday spaces. In conversations at home. In the words of a teacher. In the chapters of a textbook.

Imagine a child who reads about Savitribai Phule not just as a ‘first female teacher,’ but as a revolutionary who battled casteism, misogyny, and violence to educate girls. Imagine that same book talking about Mahadevi Varma’s literary genius, or the quiet power of homemakers who held families together during partition, or women who resisted British rule through underground networks, not just battlefield glory.

A river may be gentle, but it carves stone. A woman’s strength doesn’t have to roar to be revolutionary.

This is what feminist education can do. It reminds us that every woman has a history worth telling — and every child deserves to hear it.

The Language of Gender: How Even Words Hide the Truth

Language plays its part too. Have you noticed how power and size are associated with masculine words? ‘Sea’ — vast, powerful, deep — is often thought of as male. ‘River’ — calm, nurturing, ever-giving — is seen as female. Yet it is the river that shapes the land, that sustains life, that wears away mountains.

These metaphors matter. They reveal the subconscious values our culture promotes: masculinity as dominant, femininity as passive. And they seep into how we remember, or fail to remember, the contributions of women in history.

“Our society doesn’t just erase women from the past — it teaches us to undervalue them in the present.”

Post-Independence: A Promise Not Yet Fulfilled

The Indian Constitution gave equal rights to women. On paper, we made a huge leap forward. In practice, however, patriarchy continued to resist change.

Girls were still told education wasn’t for them. Women were still discouraged from working. Gender roles stayed rigid. And when women did step out — into politics, medicine, law, or science — they faced not only challenges, but also silence. Their achievements rarely made it to the spotlight.

“If a woman breaks barriers but no one writes about it, did it even happen?”

We owe it to these women — and to ourselves — to change that answer.

It’s Time to Reclaim Herstory

Let’s go back to where we began: a child, with a simple, honest question.

“Why are there only men in my history textbook?”

That question should shake us. It should push us to reflect, to question, and to act.

History is not a neutral record of what happened. It is a mirror held up by those in power, reflecting what they want us to see. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.

We can rewrite it. We can correct it. We can reclaim it.

And when we do, we don’t just do justice to the women of the past — we empower the children of the future.

Let’s Continue the Conversation

What woman from history do you wish you had learned about in school? Share in the comments or repost this blog with your own story. Let’s demand inclusive textbooks, intersectional education, and a history that honors all its makers — not just the men who wrote it.

✨Thank you kindly for reading - Ruth

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