Most women is history have had a hard time being taken seriously. A lot of really cool ladies have fought to change that. We're not talking about those women here. We're talking about the women in history who haven't done us any favors. Here are a few of them. We've rated them out of five on how many steps they've set us back.
Erzsebet Bathory - The Blood Countess
# of Steps Back - 5
Also known as the Blood Countess, this extremely wealthy Hungarian woman tortured servants and apparently bathed in their blood. She thought blood was the key to eternal youth. She killed more than 600 women, both peasants and nobility. Although she was eventually locked up in her castle and her accomplices executed, she couldn't be harmed because of her status.
Imelda Marcos - Shoe Diva
# of Steps Back - 4
Imelda Marcos was once the wife of the Philippine dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, and was also known as the "Steel Butterfly." She led a life of corruption, political chaos and financial scandals. She and her husband had to flee the Philippines to Hawaii but she returned after his death. In 2001, she was arrested and charged with corruption and illegally obtaining riches - basically, stealing from her country. It seems Imelda spent a lot of that money on jewelry and shoes. Rumor has it that at one time she had more than 3,000 pairs of shoes, although she claims she only had 1,060. She says she collected them because it was like a symbol of thanks and love. Ummmm... ok.
Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider - The Rules Women # of Steps Back - 3
Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider wrote the best-selling book The Rules, which is about the so-called rules of dating. Rules include: never call a man, don't make eye contact with men, don't talk too much - not exactly the most girl-power ideas. The ladies also wrote the Rules for Marriage. However, the rules didn't work out for Ellen Fein - she's divorced.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela - Fraud
# of Steps Back - 3
She's called Mother of the Nation by those who love her and a conniving fraud by others. Winnie married an icon - Nelson Mandela - and fought injustice as head of the anti-apatheid group, the ANCWL (African National Congress - Women's League). However, she was her conviction for assault and kidnapping connected with the 1989 killing of 14-year-old Stompie Seipei Moeketsi. In 2003, she was found guilty of 43 charges of fraud and 25 of theft.
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