Women’s Power

By Max Dashu
Suppressed Histories Archives

Independent scholar and founder of the Suppressed Histories Archives, Max Dashu, recently released Women’s Power, a 86-minute DVD of one of her 100 slideshows on female history and heritage. Women’s Power is a comprehensive and remarkable documentary about female leadership, creativity, and wisdom as seen from a global perspective and over thousands of years. Through it, Dashu seeks to resurrect the truly extraordinary women of ancient civilizations and finally shed light on their spirituality. From the shamanic East African priestess Muhumusa to ancient Chinese oracle Wu, all are included in Dashu’s captivating documentary of the women who were skipped when men wrote history.

Dashu’s film is unique because of her willingness to follow the story wherever it leads her in time and place. She is a visual artist whose paintings give new life by incorporating color into the documentary. Her paintings include depictions of ancient goddesses, political, and spiritual leaders - as well as various spiritual concepts. They are vibrant, beautiful, and powerful.

Although the documentary is slightly elementary in its style, it still makes an impact. Indeed, the story of these ancestral mothers, chieftains, queens, seers, educators, scientists, and revolutionaries - as told in Women’s Power - will change your perception of women. For not only does Dashu unveil the history of these anonymous women in her documentary, she also demonstrates how past sexism has ultimately led us to lose a large and integral part of our legacy as human beings. The women presented in the film played fundamental roles in the development and advancement of ancient, and consequently modern, society, and must never be forgotten.

Review by Sameeraa Pahwa