A young woman forged medals (6)
I believe the answer is:
damsel
'a young woman' is the definition.
(damsel is a kind of young woman)
'forged medals' is the wordplay.
'forged' indicates anagramming the letters.
'medals' anagrammed gives 'DAMSEL'.
(Other definitions for damsel that I've seen before include "Girl (literary)" , "Maiden (poetic)" , "Someone in distress?" , "little fly" , "Old-fashioned young woman" .)