Born: 1771, Thailand
Died: 1852
Country most active: Thailand
Also known as: ท้าวสุรนารี, Thao Suranari, Ya Mo
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women founder Allison Tyra’s book The View from the Hill: Women Who Made Their Mark After 40.
The woman known as Ya Mo (Grandma Mo) was the wife of a government official in Nakhon Ratchasima, and was in her mid-50s in 1826 when King Anouvong of Vientiane invaded and seized the city while the governor was away.
Unlike our revolutionaries, Lady Mo was on the other side, as Vientiane’s forces were waging war to gain their independence from Siam (now Thailand). But like many people forced into such situations, she was determined to defend her people. The invading forces abducted the city’s residents, intending to take them back to what is today Laos. Lady Mo is credited with preventing this, though specifics vary somewhat. Her delaying tactics reportedly included getting the soldiers drunk and claiming that carts were broken, or that captives were sick or injured. She asked for axes to fix the “broken” carts and knives when the Vientianese soldiers demanded the women prisoners cook for them, and had her people fashion weapons from sticks they could sharpen. One night while the soldiers slept, the prisoners turned on their startled captors with these improvised weapons. The Vientianese troops fled and the inhabitants of Nakhon Ratchasima escaped. King Rama III’s forces soon pursued, and the Vientianese were defeated within a matter of days.
The king granted Lady Mo the title Thao Suranari (the brave lady) and centuries later, her legacy lives on, with a statue in the center of Nakhon Ratchasima and a festival held in her honor every year.