Elizabeth I	Queen of England CE 1558 to CE 1603 Absolute Monarch promoted theater and the fine arts, including William Shakespeare restored unity by establishing compromises between Catholics and Protestants defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 Established England as a naval power
Catherine the Great	Queen of Russia CE 1762 to CE1796 Absolute Monarch Enlightened Despot introduced reforms and westernization won a warm-water port for Russia on the Black Sea Greatly expanded Russia's borders
Wu Zhao	Tang Dynasty Empress of China CE 690 to CE 705 Absolute Monarch promoted agriculture and building projects replaced aristocratic military and government officials with scholars created a brief Chinese Golden Age gained power through ruthless court intrigue encouraged Buddhism

Women and Islam
In the early days of Islam, women enjoyed more freedom than many Muslim women today.  Women were protected by laws concerning such areas as inheritance, divorce, and property.  Also, women and men were considered religiously equal, according to one interpretation of the Qu'ran, the Islamic holy book.  As Islam spread from Arabia into Northern Africa, Southern Europe, and farther east into the Indian subcontinent, it began taking on cultural aspects of those areas, through the normal process of diffusion.  Examples of this are the seclusion of women and the covering of a woman's face in public.  The role of Islamic women began to be relegated to the order of the household, while men handled all public affairs.  Many of these practices, remain in varying degrees throughout the modern Islamic world.  The most recent examples lies with the Taliban of Afghanistan, the Muslim ruling body which severely restricted the rights of women and imposed extremely harsh punishments if women violated any laws.  For example, a woman could be publicly executed if she went out into public without a burkha on.  As shown here, burkhas completely hide the identity of the woman.  Some Islamic women enjoy more freedom than others.  However, this depends on the wealth of the husband and does not apply to politics.  In the 20th century, many Islamic leaders attempted introducing western reforms which included the elevating of women's rights, but they were often met with strong opposition from the fundamentalist element of Islamic society.  Despite this, many women have broken societal stereotypes and have gained an education, forcing their way up through Islamic society on their own. 

Women in Asia
Women in traditional China, and Japan have been considered the head of the household and the societies have been loosely described as matriarchal, run by women.  However, women have been oppressed for thousands of years reaching into present-day.  Chinese culture considered it socially acceptable to kill unwanted baby daughters as it was highly important and desirable to have baby boys.  This female infanticide, the killing of babies, lasted into the 19th century and may even still occur in remote parts of China today.  Foot-binding was a popular practice that tightly bound the feet of young girls, deforming them as they grew older.  This was done to achieve the desired cultural practice of having dainty, lady-like feet.  Women in Asia today certainly enjoy more political and social freedom than women of the past.  Women have had the right to vote in Japan since the 1950's, (albeit an imposed reform of the USA after WWII).  Also, women have greater access to the education, public positions of power, and business.  In fact, one of the few positives of the communist regime of China was that women and men were considered equal as part of the ideology of communism itself.  However, the argument can be made that the bodies of Chinese women are still being controlled with the advent of the policies concerning the number of children a family is allowed to have. 

Women in Europe
The role of women in Europe has differed from that of the rest of the world.  Western cultures were dominated by men but the influence of women was allowed to have a greater impact, bringing about women's rights at a greater pace.  Besides it being a identity of the culture itself, this may have come about because of the role women played in the industrial world.  As the Industrial Revolution began steaming ahead at break-neck speed, women were entering the work force as early as the 1700's.  This was due to the fact that the male population was not large enough to fulfill the labor needs of the factories.  Therefore, women and children were hired to work the same jobs but at drastically lower wages.  Women and industry also came together during the world wars.  The majority of men were at the front lines and women took their place at the machine in the factory.  After World War II, "Rosie the Riveter" did not feel like returning to the home as she did after World War I.  This would give rise to reform movements in Europe and the United States, demanding equal pay scales, greater employment, and equal status in society.