The Women of Dune
04MAY2026
Dune has been a hot topic since the release of the movie in 2021. The desert planet with Timothee and Zendaya playing the lead roles. And because I can happily be a basic bitch from time to time (seriously, look at my tattoo Pinterest board), I wanted to know what the hype was about. So, I watched the first movie....I'm not going to lie. I was confused as shit. There was a lot of information thrown at the audience, big world building, characters, the plot moved slowly, and Austin Butler looked crazy. Truthfully, I felt like a squirrel being tossed into the ocean (lol SpongeBob reference). So I decided to read the book, because I could see the potential masterpiece behind the water hose of information being thrown at me.
Not gonna lie, that book was huge (thick asf, man). I'm glad I did because the book was great. The exposition was hard to get through sometimes, but it gave the world more flesh. There were times that I felt the dry heat, felt the sand, and heard the digging of the worms. I not only understand the world, but also the relationships between all those that rely on the planet. This desert planet is full of life and intrigue. From the indigenous people, to the Harkonnens, to the many others in the galaxy that rely on the spice. The first book alone has so many topics to dive into: colonialism, religious indoctrination, environmental exploitation, etc., but what I want to discuss is the power women hold in the world of Dune and how the women around Paul helped in his rise to power.
SPOILER WARNING!! I'm going to assume you have either seen the movie or read the book, so you know the story. If not, here's your only spoiler warning. This is a great story, so I do recommend reading/watching it, but do what you want, you're grown...or at least I hope you are. ANYWAYS...
Paul Atreides, the Muad'dib, the Kwisatz Haderach, the lost Duke, the man of many titles and many names. Though Paul Atreides is the face of the revolution, the women in his life played an important role in helping him establish himself. They taught him, sustained him, and prepared him to be the next leader of the planet and maybe even the galaxy. Together, Jessica and Chani "shaped the path of the Kwisatz Haderach". Without their guidance, Paul would have died many times over.
While I was reading, I began to notice that women had a lot of power in the world of Dune. I noticed it first with Jessica. She wasn't even a duchess, but she was the lady of the house and a Bene Gesserit. Then Chani, the only woman out in the sands. Then I began to see the role that Chani and Jessica play in Paul's life, and I realized that women are heavily influencing the world of Dune. More specifically, the shadow organization, the Bene Gesserit.
The Bene Gesserit, and Their Mission
The first woman of his life, his mother Jessica, was a Bene Gesserit. They are eugenicists. They are trying to create a superhuman, the Kwisatz Haderach. This is a man who has the ability to see the future and basically read the intentions of those around him. But they need to get the right combination of genes to create a man who can withstand the Bene Gesserit trials. To attain the right genes, they have been "saving" bloodlines of the best houses to hopefully pass to the Kwisatz. The women themselves are incredibly beautiful, intelligent, and cunning. They have the ability to use "the voice" to convince people to bend to their will. Their beauty and training make them excellent wives for the houses, but it also makes them a threat since no one outside of the organization knows what they are doing.
Luckily for Paul, Jessica is a bit of a rebel. Bene Gesserits don't usually birth boys. And if they do, they don't usually survive the first trial. But Paul did. Not only did she teach him the way of the Bene Gesserits, the history, the breath exercises, and the thought patterns. Jessica is the historic mother of the messiah.
At first, I wanted to compare Jessica to the Virgin Mary. The holy girl who gave birth and raised the messiah in the bible. Jessica isn't as pure as Mary, but I imagine they had similar thoughts. How do you process that your son will one day be more powerful than you, then anyone who has ever lived? How do you raise someone like that? Jessica, throughout the book, thinks about how terrifying Paul will be. Jessica and Mary are similar, but different. Where Mary disappears while Jesus rises, Jessica rises along with her son.
Jessica and the story planted by the Bene Gesserit play a big part in being accepted by the Fremen. The Bene Gesserits planted the myth of the Kwisatz throughout the galaxy. On Dune, he's called the Muad'dib. However, included in the myth of the Muad'dib was his mother. So as Paul rises and gains power with the Fremen, so does Jessica; when she becomes the Reverend Mother. With quick thinking, Jessica makes sure to check the boxes needed to make the Fremen think they could be holy. Paul follows his mother's lead and, through small questions, aligns himself with the myth and, before long, becomes the myth that he copied.
Fremen Women and Chani
The first Fremen woman we meet is Chani (who Paul had been fantasizing about for countless chapters). She is the daughter of the ecologist who helped the Fremen visualize their dream of making Dune heaven (he is later killed by the Harkonnens). She helps us get a glimpse at the position the Fremen women play in their society. Fremen women aren't equal to men, since they can be transferred from man to man based on strength, but women aren't weak either. The Harkonnens, when fighting the Fremen revolts, also must worry about the women and children, because everyone who can hold a knife will hold a knife. And the Fremen have a Reverend Mother, a great advisor to their highest leaders. The knowledge of women is still held in high regard.
Back to Chani. Even though Jessica didn't want Paul to marry her at first, she gave Chani her flowers for being so intelligent and cunning, for being the right hand of the Reverend Mother. She is highly skilled and highly regarded by the other Fremen. She also, time and time again, helps Paul understand the Fremen culture, and finally, her connection to Stilgar, her uncle, connects Paul straight to leadership. And when Paul takes the poison to ascend and become the Muad'dib, Chani is the first to figure out what he did and that he is still alive. She is the fire behind Paul.
Conclusion
In the end, Dune is not just the story of a prophesied man ascending to power. It is the story of the women who built the path beneath his feet. Paul Atreides may be the Kwisatz Haderach, the face of the revolution, the man of many names—but without the women around him, he would have died as nothing more than a duke's son lost in the desert.
Consider the Bene Gesserit first. They are the true shadow architects of the Dune universe, eugenicists who have spent centuries saving bloodlines and planting myths across the galaxy. Jessica's drive and her ability to improvise brilliantly within a framework designed centuries before her birth. Her power is strategic, not just maternal. Jessica rises alongside her son—becoming the Reverend Mother of an entire sietch, a political and spiritual authority in her own right.
Then there are the Fremen women, and Chani specifically. The Fremen aren't perfectly equal, but they are far more gender-egalitarian than most Great Houses. The Reverend Mother is arguably the most powerful single figure in Fremen society—she holds the collective genetic memory of the entire tribe. Chani embodies this perfectly. She is both warrior and sage-in-training, and the fire behind him at every step.
So yes, I came for the sandworms and Timothée Chalamet's cheekbones. But I stayed for the women. Because on Arrakis, and in the pages of Dune, the future doesn't belong to the strongest man. It belongs to the ones who taught him how to lead. The women of Dune do not stand in the background. They shape bloodlines, plant myths across galaxies, hold memory and poison and truth in their bodies, and decide which men rise and which men fall. And in a universe of emperors and warriors, the quietest power is often the most lasting.