Podcast series celebrates Warrior Women

A podcast series celebrating the lives of six historical women has been released by one of West Yorkshire's top museums.

The Leeds-based Royal Armouries has launched Warrior Women, which delves into the stories of spies, soldiers, monarchs and rebels who have played a significant role in conflicts.

The museum said it wanted to challenge the "misconception that women have been absent from the front lines of history".

The women covered include warrior queen Lakshmi Bai, sword master diplomat Chevalier d'Eon and Soviet sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who is believed to have killed more than 300 Nazi soldiers during World War Two.

Spy Vera Leigh and samurai Nakano Takeko are two other historical figures celebrated by the podcast, which was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The other episode is dedicated to the 18th-century Royal Marine Hannah Snell, who disguised herself as a man to join the British armed forces.

The museum said the stories would cover the complexities of the women's "struggles and triumphs against subjugation, fascism and colonialism all during periods of history where doing so was immeasurably more difficult due to their gender".

Podcast host Anna Ward, who works at the Armouries, said: "Warrior Women is not just a historical podcast; it is an important, progressive conversation about the role of women in history and society today.

"Their courage, resilience, and agency in conflict reflect the struggles still faced by women around the world today.

"We invite listeners to embark on this journey, rethinking the past and scrutinising what these stories might say about our present."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.