Womb, Power, and Politics: Mughal Women and the (Un)Making of Biological Essentialism
Hareem Rehan
31/08/2026
Historical narratives and retellings of the Mughal Empire 1526–1857 often describe women as confined to the Harem and excluded from political life, reducing their roles to reproduction and motherhood. This paper explores how historical norms about women’s reproductive and post-reproductive roles affected their participation in Mughal society and courts. It examines how exclusion from public power was supported by the social construction of gender and biological essentialism, the idea that women are naturally suited only for domestic roles, and how such ideas were reinforced by later Orientalists in historical narratives. Using the reign of Empress Nur Jahan as a case study, the paper analyses how power could be negotiated through gender, especially through symbols of authority including portraits and coins. The paper also considers other examples, such as Gulbadan Begum (1523–1603), who commissioned the Humayun-nama and led the historic 7-year Hajj pilgrimage, highlighting women’s contributions to literature and the inclusive participation of post-reproductive women in politics. By analysing these cases, the paper argues that Mughal women’s political power was more complex than traditional narratives portray. It assesses the extent to which exclusion from authority in the public sphere contributed to biological essentialist justifications for inequality, and how gendered assumptions were used to marginalize Mughal women's political authority. It also explores the extent to which women could exercise authority in the Mughal Empire independent of their maternal role. This research paper analyses both primary sources and contemporary scholarship to offer a revised view of the agency of women in Mughal India.