Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership
Heads of State of the Philipines/ Repúblika ñg Filipinas (Female Suffrage 1937) Spanish Rule till 1898, US-Rule 1898-1946, Independent 1946

Also see Philippines Heads

Sultanate of Sulu (Jolo)
Since the late 19th century large parts have been annexed by Malaysia

Circa 1680-circa 85 Sultan Nur al-Azam ( Pangian Ampay II)
Originally known as Siti Cabil or Sittie Kabira, she succeeded her maternal grandfather, Sultan Muawil Wasit. Not much is known today about her reign, Kabira’s name remains in an extended prayer for the Prophets and their descendants and followers in a traditional mosque in Maimbung. Her name is included in the Dalrymple's list of sultans but is not inclueded in the Sulu genealogy, probably because she was a woman.

1881-? Politically Influential Inchi Jamila
She unsuccesfully lobbied to have her son, Amirul Kiram, asume the position of Sultan after the detath of Jamal ul-Kiram. When the new ruler, Badar ud-Din II made a pilgrimage to Mecca, she was one of the two regents. After Badar's death she twice tried to convince the Ruma Bechara (Council) to elect her son as sultan. when he fimanlly became sultan under the name of Jamal ul-Kiram II, she became the power behind the throne.

1920s Government Agent  Putlih Tarhata Kiram
The daughter of Sultan Jamal ul Kiram II, she first worked as a charity worker and then as a gobetween the government and the Muslims. 1926 she married Datu Tahil. In 1936 the Princess was among the heirs to the sultanate which filed a civil suit against the anexation. The judgment of Chief Justice C.F.C. Makaskie of the High Court of North Borneo upheld the validity of their claim.

1936 Candidate for the Throne Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao
The Ruma Bechara (Council) petioned to have her appointed reigning sultana but the Philippine government rejected this, and no new sultan was appointed.

1987 Head of the Heirs Princess Sakinur-in
Sister of Princess Tarhata, tried to seek audience with President Aquino, but their request was ignored and they were instead referred to the foreign affairs department, according to Ulama.

1999 Princess Denchurain Kiram, in a letter dated Feb. 2, 1999, addressed to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad through the former President, had requested for an increase in the annual rentals. The Princess, who died the following September, never received any reply from the Malaysian government. (d. 2000).

2000 Putri Taj-Mahal Kiram Tarsum-Nuqui, Pangian Dayang-Dayang
Princess Taj-Mahal is the highest-ranking female heir of the Sultanate.

 

Sultanate of Maguindanao

... Powerful Myong
During the reign of her husband, Sultan Pahr ud-Din

1888-1906 Regent Rajah Putri
Daughter of Sultan Kudarat II, widow of Sultan Muhammad Jalaluddin Pablu bin Muhammad Makakwa (1883-88) and succeeded by her second husband, Muhammad Mangigin bin Datu (1906-26).

- 2004- Muslim women leaders Lanao and Sultan Kudarat are most active in performing their inherited responsibilities from traditional influence more than elective positions. Take it from former Lanao Gov. Tarhata Alonto-Lucman and her daughter Normala Lucman, who also became vice governor of that province. Hadja Bai Salma Utto-Aziz is a mere barangay captain in Datu Piang, but her influence as far as the Maguindanaoans are concerned extends to as far as Metro Manila. The same is also said of Mayor Bai Dido Karon of Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat.

Principality of Buayan

18.. Rajah Putri
Married to Datu Uto, she was held in high estreem together with her mother, Paya Sabi, and she signed the capitulation to the Spanish - although her husband rejected it.

?-2000- Bai Janena Bai-a-Labi sa Sugod-a-Buayan of
She is the nominal monarch in one of the three principalities in the southern island of Maguindanao

Kingdom of Tawalisi

Around 1340 Legendary Princess Urduja of Tawalisi (Philippines)
Ancient accounts say, was a 14th century woman ruler of the dynastic Kingdom of Tawalisi in Pangasinan, a vast area lying by the shores of the Lingayen Gulf and the China Sea. Pangasinan was an important kingdom then, and the sovereign was equal to the King of China. Legend has it that she was famous for leading a retinue of woman warriors who were skilled fighters and equestrians. They developed a high art of warfare to preserve their political state. The legend of Princess Urduja can be attributed to the famous story of Mohammedan traveler, Ibn Batuta of India, who was a passenger on a Chinese junk, which has just come from the port of Kakula, north of Java and Sumatra and passed by Pangasinan on the way to Canton, China in 1347.

 

 

 

Last update 14.11.04