The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word MATRIARCH
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
A
T
R
I
A
R
C
H
More clues leading to the result MATRIARCH
- Protest about short audition for leading lady
- Woman dominant in right manner, shown up in game
- Leading lady in protest accepting short audition
- Powerful woman using marriage to control two states
- Elderly mother mostly suffering during parade
- Tribal leader takes a short journey during month
- Head of family‘s ordeal cut short during demonstration
- Parade involving endless trouble for powerful woman
- Head of family to get final loss of hearing within a month
- Domineering lady has a short trip during the month …
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The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MATRIARCH mean?
MATRIARCH noun- A female leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group.
- A female founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.