prostitute. He also directed that they should live within their house and travel under the supervision of a male. The upper-class women were better-off due to private education and entertainment. The purdah system became weaker as the Mughal empire declined. However, there were cases of women often becoming prominent in the fields of politics, literature, education, and religion also during this period. Razia Sultana (1205–1240) became the only woman monarch to have ever ruled Delhi. The Gond Rani Durgavati (1524–1564) ruled for fifteen years before losing her life in a battle with Mughal emperor Akbar's general Asaf Khan in 1564. Chand Bibi defended Ahmednagar against the powerful Mughal forces of Akbar in the 1590s. Jehangir's wife Nur Jehan effectively wielded imperial power, and was recognised as the real power behind the Mughal throne. The Mughal princesses Jahanara and Zebunnissa were well-known poets, and also influenced the ruling powers. Abbakka Chowta was the first Tuluva Queen of Ullal who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century. Shivaji's mother, Jijabai, was queen regent because of her ability as a warrior and an administrator. Tarabai was another female Maratha ruler. Keladi Chennamma fought against Bijapur Sultanate and defying Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Onake Obavva was a woman who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a pestle (Onake) in the kingdom of Chitradurga. Mai Sukhan, with her small Sikh forces, strongly defended the town of Amritsar against external forces. While, Velu Nachiyar, was one of the earliest Indian queens to fight against the British colonial power in India. Kittur Chennamma was the Rani of Kittur, who led an armed force against the British East India Company in 1824 in defiance of the doctrine of lapse in an attempt to maintain Indian control over the region, but was defeated in the third war and died imprisoned. In South India, many women administered villages, towns, and divisions, and ushered in new social and religious institutions. Lakshmibai, the Rani of Maratha-ruled Jhansi, one of the principal leaders of the rebellion who earlier had lost her kingdom as a result of the Doctrine of Lapse. British rule During the British Raj, many reformers such as Ram Mohan Roy, Dayanand Saraswati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Jyotirao Phule fought for the betterment of women. Peary Charan Sarkar, a former student of Hindu College, Calcutta and a member of "Young Bengal", set up the first free