It goes without saying that some Asian cultures can be patriarchal, and throughout history, the societal role of women was rather limited.

However, women have proven time and time again that they too can carve themselves a place in the history books.

Read on and be inspired by these five tales of women who did the unthinkable and went against the gender roles of their time.

1. Princess Pingyang (China)

The Tang Dynasty, regarded to be China’s golden age, owed its existence to a young lady.

The preceding Sui Dynasty was collapsing, caused by overambitious building projects and a disastrous invasion into Korea.

A man named Li Yuan rose up in rebellion, and he was joined in his revolt by his daughter, Pingyang.

Having found the common people starving, Pingyang distributed food aid at her family’s personal expense and many people joined her cause.

The Army of the Lady, numbering 70,000 marched under her command and repeatedly defeated Sui forces.

Her army was greeted as liberators because of her strict code of conduct that guaranteed discipline and civility.

Li Yuan would be enthroned as the first Emperor of the Tang and Pingyang would be rewarded with the title of Princess.

She died a young woman, and conservative officials objected to the presence of a military band at her funeral because of her gender.

Retorting, the emperor pointed out how important she had been for his cause. “She was no ordinary woman.”

2. Nakano Takeko (Japan)

From 1868 to 1869, Japan was embroiled in the Boshin War, fought between domains supporting either the Emperor or the Shogun.

On the Shogunate side was the Aizu domain, and among its warriors was a woman named Nakano Takeko.

A rare female martial arts instructor, she had also garnered a reputation for catching peeping toms in bathhouses.

As Imperial forces fought their way up the Shogunate-supporting east, she participated in the fighting by forming a squadron of women later called the Joshitai, or Girl’s Army.

Left outside the castle, her group joined up with a cannon brigade that was initially apprehensive of fighting alongside women; that is until she threatened to commit suicide.

She would fight ferociously at the contested Yanagi bridge, killing several Imperial troopers with her naginata polearm.

But when leading a charge, she was shot and fatally wounded.

To prevent her head from being taken as a war trophy, her sister behead her as per Nakano’s wishes, and buried it in the temple of Hokai-ji.

Her naginata is still on display there, a reminder of her last stand.

3. The Trung sisters (Vietnam)

Vietnam has a long history of heroines rising up to resist foreign domination.

Among these national heroines are the Trung sisters, namely Trung Trac and Trun Nhi.

While they came from a humble background, the two sisters received martial arts training.

At the time, northern Vietnam was under Han Chinese rule and tensions began boiling under the oppressive regime.

When Trac’s husband was murdered, the Trungs had enough and assembled an army to drive the oppressors out.

From among these ranks, the sisters picked out 36 women, including their mother, to be trained as commanders.

Caught by surprise, the Han Chinese were forced onto the defensive and with 65 settlements rising up in support of the rebellion, Trung Trac was crowned as queen.

However, the Han Empire would strike back shortly after, and in 43AD the sisters’ armies were defeated and in anguish, they killed themselves.

Despite their defeat, the Trung sisters remain part of the Vietnamese pantheon of national heroes and an everlasting symbol of independence.

4. Mai Bhago (India)

Revered by Sikhs as a saint, this woman was instrumental in ensuring the survival of her faith through her actions in the 1705 battle of Mukstar.

At the time, the Mughal Empire, led by the notoriously cruel Aurangzeb, was warring against Guru Gobind Singh and the outlook seemed very bleak for the Sikhs.

Demoralised, 40 men deserted their brethren, leaving them to face the impending Mughal army alone.

Furious when she heard of this, Mai Bhago shamed and motivated them into reconsidering their actions and successfully made them re-join the cause.

Her actions could not have been any timelier, as the guru’s stronghold was under assault by the Mughals.

Together with the 40 ex-deserters, Mai fought ferociously against superior enemy numbers and by the time the Mughals beat a hasty retreat, all 40 had fallen with only Mai surviving.

She lost most of her family in the battle, but in recognition of her courage, she was included into the guru’s bodyguard.

5. Malalai of Maiwand (Afghanistan)

In 1880, Afghanistan was next on the British list of potential colonies.

In the First Anglo-Afghan War, the British were successfully repulsed, but the empire was not to be defeated so easily.

A clash brewed between the invading British army and the Afghans near the town of Maiwand.

A young woman named Malalai, who was about 18 years old, joined her father and her fiancé with their countrymen in battle. Malalai acted as a field nurse, tending to the sick and dying.

Folklore states that the battle took place on what was supposed to be her wedding day.

The British army had inferior numbers, but came with better equipment and training than their Afghan opponents.

As the Afghan resolve faltered, Malalai took up the flag of a fallen standard-bearer and sang a folk song encouraging her fellow soldiers to keep up the fight.

She was then shot and killed; but her actions raised morale on the Afghan side and by the end of the battle, the mighty British army was beating a hasty retreat.