Born: 22 May 1811, Kyrgyzstan
Died: 1 February 1907
Country most active: Kyrgyzstan
Also known as: Курманжан Датка, Datka Kurmanjan Mamatbay kyzy
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women founder Allison Tyra’s book The View from the Hill: Women Who Made Their Mark After 40.
Some rulers have led their people by refusing to go to war. Born in 1811, Kurmanjan was a Kyrgyz datka, meaning “righteous ruler,” in the Alai Mountains. Sent to marry a man she did not want, she instead fled back to her family in defiance of social rules, later marrying a man she loved in 1832. Her husband was the governor of the Andijon Province in the Kokand Khanate and became the atalyk (regent) for the 12-year-old khan of Kokand in 1862, shortly before he was assassinated. Following his death, the widow Kurmanjan became datka in her 50s at a time when the Khanate was in decline and the Russian army was advancing ever further into central Asia.
Although her husband had fought the Russians, and some of her children did as well, Kurmanjan recognized a losing battle when she saw one. She used her position to convince other Kyrgyzs not to fight the overwhelming Russian forces, even allowing her son to be executed rather than risk the safety of her people. Although people often want to valorize the struggle of a doomed smaller group vastly outmatched by a greater force, Kurmanjan chose diplomacy and survival for her people instead of a pointless wholesale slaughter. Her portrait was later featured on a Kyrgyz banknote and 2011 was pronounced the Year of Kurmanjan Datka in Kyrgyzstan in honor of the 200th anniversary of her birth.