The primary and secondary sources for social history, and parts of the media, often present a gloomy picture of the status of women in Islamic history, and the waning, if not disappearance, of their role in public life, particularly in Yemen. In reality, such a picture might be credible at certain periods and in limited geographic regions, but it would be wrong to generalize across time and space. Scholars have long neglected the role of religious endowments (Waqf, pl. "Awqaf") and their influence in scholarly revival, as a pioneering institution of civil society in Islamic history. Hence the significance of this study in observing the contribution of women and the waqf during the Rasulid era in Yemen, a dynasty that ruled Yemen from 1229 to 1454, with a focus on the scholarly waqf of Rasulid women in Zabid. Thanks to these endowments, and the educational institutions they created and support, Zabid became a scholarly city. The main conclusions of the study are that women in the Rasulid era contributed to the revival of scholarship in Yemen and in Zabid in particular. Even after the Zabid dynasty moved its capital to Taiz, Zabid retained its political and intellectual significance.