1

Women as participants in warfare in the Middle East.

2022
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Introduction

In recent decades, women have made significant strides and deservedly secured their
place in society and politics, something that was once considered utopian. To make this happen,
years of struggle, many strikes and demonstrations for women's rights took place. The most
famous of all took place in New York on March 8, 1857, starring working women dressed in
white who demanded equal pay with men. The strike led to bloodshed, but paved the way for
equal rights for both sexes in the western world. 1 Thus, in 1910 in Copenhagen, March 8 was
established as International Women's Day.2

However, discrimination continues to this day and society continues to treat women with
contempt. According to a UN report, there are still several obstacles in the way of gender
equality, despite the efforts made. Many women and girls are victims of discrimination, abuse
and lack equal opportunities in education and the labor market. It is obvious that in the countries
of the Middle East the problem is bigger due to religious and cultural factors.3

In particular, women in many Eastern countries do not have the right to express their
personal views and are under the control of their husband, who is the custodian of their property
and responsible for raising the children of the family. It is the duty of women to submit to the
wishes of their husbands - and in cases of sexual intercourse - where they have the possibility of
refusal only if the husband has not paid the contract part of the dowry or is fasting. Divorce laws
vary from region to region. In certain cases, women have the opportunity to file for divorce only
after being abused. If this is the case, the wife is expelled from the husband's house.4

Due to the above facts, many women in the Middle East are activists and are fighting for
their rights and the rights of millions of other women. They often attend lectures and conferences
aimed at gender equality and the restoration of women's position in society. They say that
technology and specifically the media have a big role to play in their struggle, as a large
percentage of the world's population uses social media platforms, such as Facebook or twitter.

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Through these social networks, these women have the opportunity to convey their message not
only to women in the respective position, but also to the general public.5

This text will attempt to compare the three case studies which are based on three different
cultural levels and societies, in addition, will explain the similarities between the three societies
in the Middle Eastern region. The contrast between Israeli women vs Palestinian women and
Kurds vs Israelis- Palestinians in armed forces will show that women can play a different role in
militaries where they can use soft and hard power as well. The term combatant differs from
society to society as women which are actively involved in the sociopolitical sphere are treated
differently by their communities.

This dissertation is based on literature research. The case studies used in order to support
the idea that women are actively involved in the forces and especially in times of a crisis, despite
the difficulties they are constantly facing (patriarchy). Even if women are constantly using their
strengths, especially in peace building processes and negotiations, their respective role in
military forces is constantly growing, due to the important changes in the existing patriarchal
structures.

Thus women, as it will be further examined through the case studies, did not only have
had the option to fight along men, but also excel both in negotiations and in the battlefield. I
would attempt to support the idea that women can be negotiators and fighters at the same time
and the fact that the given case studies show that women can equally fight for their countries in
many ways (negotiators and soldiers). Additionally, I will attempt to explain the patriarchal
structures in the Middle Eastern Socio Political and military sphere which challenges the role of
women

1st Chapter: The term “combatant” and the role of women in war

1.1 The term combatant

The American writer and analyst Robert Kaplan distinguishes two archetypes of people
involved in war: the soldier and the combatant. The soldier is distinguished by a high degree of
discipline, defined ways of armed action, restrictions and limits on the use of armed force, is

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governed by specific moral principles while his perception of the enemy is strictly limited to the
opposing soldier facing him.6

The combatant is potentially more unruly and ruthless, is governed by weaker moral
principles, and has far fewer hesitations and restrictions on the use of armed force. The Warrior
does not see the opposite soldier as an enemy. This is also the size of the opponent on the
battlefield, but for the combatant, the opponent is the wider entire society of the opponent and his
state structures, since in them he recognizes the wider threat, he faces. A professional military
man can be a soldier or a combatant. The typical soldier will limit himself to studying his
opponent more in terms of his military strength, in order to organize and plan in such a way as to
deal with him as he thinks best on the battlefield. The Soldier's perception is dominated by the
possibility of a military confrontation under the conditions known to mankind until the dawn of
the 21st century.7

The combatant, however, has a broader perception of things and a more "restless" spirit.
In order to defeat the enemy, he does not focus on the destruction of his military power but,
thinking cunningly and out of stereotypes (out of the box), seeks from the time of peace the
overthrow and degradation of his state policies and structures. All of this triggers a Hybrid War,
which is often difficult to understand and perhaps more difficult for a soldier to deal with.8

In this sense, the combatant is less conventional than the Soldier and seeks the constant
deterioration of his adversary even in peacetime with hybrid tactics and new fields of action. The
combatant, unlike the Soldier, does not engage in his profession (war) occasionally, but "fights"
every day. The difference between a Soldier and a Warrior is found in the spirit, the mentality.
The first less flexible, more limited and focused on what to do to prepare while the second, more
"wicked" spirit, spends every moment, in peace and war trying to devise ways to harm the
adversary diplomatically, propaganda, economy, cyber warfare and other fields of Hybrid War.9

1.2 The presence and role of women in war historically

6
Stewart J., Military History: Historical Armies of the World and how they changed the world, Create Space
Independent Publishing, New York, 2016, p. 4
7
Weigley R.F., History of the United States Army, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1984, p. 29
8
Jordan D., Kiras J.D., Lonsdale D.J., Speller I., Tuck C., & Dale Walton C., Understanding Modern Warfare,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2016, p. 268
9
Weigley R.F., History of the United States Army, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1984, p. 29
 5

It may be true that during the last years we may see through the media, the presence of
women in various conflicts around the world, especially in the case of the conflict of the Syrian
civil war, or for instance it is true that we may see women within the armed forces of many
countries across the world in our days, but nevertheless it is characteristic that this phenomenon
has been on actually for thousands of years.

Taking under consideration some historical facts, is may be noted briefly at this point that
historically women have served in the military of various armies and societies throughout
history. It has to be noted that in our days, women are not any more excluded from combat
actions and missions. Such actions and duties may include being army engineers, or on the other
hand being infantry soldiers, aircraft pilots (being even in fighter planes and bombers) etc.
Considering the western world, it is mentionable that since the First World War in 1914, women
had started serving in greater numbers and in more diverse roles that before. This aspect was due
to the fact that during that period those societies had been within a full war effort, which also
mend that everyone had to assist.10

Nevertheless, during that period this didn’t mean that women were still allowed to
participate in combat action. Their role had been mostly associated to a series of efforts that
aimed on assisting the fight of men at the front. That mend for instance the presence of women
nurses in military hospitals. The role of women had also been associated to their presence and
participation in organizations destined to support war efforts. In the United States, such
organizations for instance had been the Committee on Public Information the role of which had
been associated with educating and informing the masses about the war. Many women also from
the USA during that period had crossed the ocean, in order to help soldiers. It is characteristic
that this had actually been the first time in modern history when women from all classes had
worked together in order to help the war effort.11

The role of women in nursing services had been their main task during that period and
this had also been evident with women of other countries as well as those in the United
Kingdom, German, Austria, Italy, France, Russia, or the Ottoman Empire. In the case of the

10
Hendrsickson M., (2018). “Lynn Dumenil. The Second Line of Defense: American Women and World War I.
Elizabeth Cobbs. The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers”. The American Historical Review, 123(4): 1332 -
1334
11
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latter, for instance, it is characteristic that women had only some limited front lines, acting as
nursers and providing generally a subsidiary work force as an emergency medical personnel.
Their role on this matter, as well as in other armies across the world during that period, had been
of great importance, since millions of men were already fighting in many fronts around. The
existence and action of those women had been possible through the action of many international
as well as domestic organizations within the Ottoman Empire. One organization which would
play a vital role on this matter during that period, was the 12

Nevertheless, in some cases even during that period, it is characteristic that there had
been some examples and cases of women who had tried to participate in combat action. This had
been the case, for instance, of a Russian battalion which had been created during the First World
War and more specifically in 1917 by the Russian Provisional Government. It fought well on the
hand, but on the other hand its effectiveness had not been so great, considering especially the fact
that their presence didn’t have such a great propaganda impact on the Russian society during that
time.13

On the other hand, off course, it is evident that the role of women had been crucial
especially in war factories. This is something which had been observed also during the Second
World War. It is evident that during World War II, the proportion of American women working
outside the home in paid work increased from 25% to 36%. More married women, more mothers
and more minority women found jobs than before the war.14

Due to the absence of many men who either joined the army or took up jobs in the war-
making industries, some women moved away from their traditional roles and took up jobs that
were usually reserved for men. Through the use of propaganda posters like for instance the well
known “Rossie the Riveter” the idea that it was patriotic and not stupid for women to participate
and engage in nontraditional women’s jobs had greatly been promoted. As an example, in the US
shipbuilding industry, where women were excluded from almost all jobs except a few pre-war
jobs, women accounted for more than 9% of the workforce during the war.15
12
Metinsoy E.M., Ottoman Women during World War I: Everyday Experiences, politics and conflict, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 2017, p. 54
13
Reese R.R., The Soviet Military Experience: a history of the Soviet Army, 1917- 1991, Routledge, London, 2000, p.
17
14
Gazeley I., (2008). “Women’s pay in British industry during the Second World War”. The Economic History
Review, 61(3): 651 -671
15
Cilio J., Women’s work in WWII, Vintage Flyer Media, New York -London, 2013, p. 200
 7

The large increase in the presence of women in the workforce also meant that those who
were mothers had to deal with issues such as child care - finding quality childcare and dealing
with the transportation of children to and from "kindergarten" before and after work. - and were
often primary or solo housewives, dealing with the same reasoning and other issues faced by
other women in the home.16

In cities like London, these home changes were in addition to dealing with bombings and
other threats during the war. When the fighting reached areas where civilians lived, it often fell
heavily on women to protect their families - children, the elderly - or to transport them to safety
and to continue to provide food and shelter during emergencies.17

One notable case of a country which during the Second World War would focus greatly
non the use of women in combat action, was without doubt that of the Soviet Union. Germany
and generally the Axis power, as well as the western Allies during that war would also send
some small groups of women to combat action, but those percentages clearly could not match
those of the Soviets. Of course, at this point also someone has to take under consideration that in
the Soviet Union too, many women had participated in the war effort, either as nurses or by
working in war factories, as in the case of the western countries. Nevertheless, it is also
characteristic that a great number of them would see combat action. One of the main prolific
examples can be considered that of the called 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet
Union, which consisted exclusively of female fighter pilots and is still considered one of the
most heroic army corps for the Russians. Most of the women who took part in it, took revenge
for the death of their loved ones and for this reason they had a kamikaze behavior, which proved
so useful and at the same time critical for the outcome of the war.18

Generally, it can be said that during the 20th century gradually there had started a process
of conscripted more and more women in the armed forces of many countries across the world. It
is characteristic that this process had been observed already since many decades ago even in
countries of the Third World, as in the case of the Vietnam War (1965 -1975). It has been
estimated, more specifically, that during that period around 11,000 women had served with the
16
Eder M., The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World
War II, Sourcebooks, London, 2021, p. 341
17
Cilio J., Women’s work in WWII, Vintage Flyer Media, New York -London, 2013, p. 31
18
Cottam K.J., Women in war and resistance: selected biographies of Soviet women soldiers, Focus Publishing/ R.
Pullins Co, Newburyport, MA, 1998, p. 144
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forces of Northern Vietnam. Nevertheless, the vast majority of women still had been served, as
military nurses, clerks, intelligence officers etc.19 Nearly all of them had been volunteers. On the
other hand, it is also characteristic that during the 1960’s there had been an effort in the newly
independent Democratic Republic of Kongo for enlisting women as paratroopers, although their
numbers had been low.20

No matter if until our days there have been some substantial progress on the matter of the
participation of women in combat roles, still it is evident that their percentages are not that high.
Even in the case of Israel, which can be considered as the most progressive country in the Middle
East, considering the aspect of women’s rights and position in the society, irt is characteristic
that women in combat roles in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) are less than 4% of the total
combat troops.

2nd Chapter: Literature Critique -Theories

2.1 Patriarchy-Gender inequality

Studying the matter about the aspect of gender inequality in the system of patriarchy
which has developed since thousands of years ago in many societies across the globe, it is
evident that there has been already a number of various theoretical approaches. One of them is
the Marxist one. It is evident that the development of the Marxist analysis about women’s rights
and gender inequality has always focused on aspects like the struggle of classes or like the
exploitation of workers by the interests of the capitalist businessmen. Marxist feminism analyzes
the ways in which women are exploited through capitalism and the individual ownership of
private property.21

Marxist feminism is a subcategory of feminist theory that focuses on the disintegration /

19
Lawrence A.M., The Vietnam War: A Concise International History, Oxford University Press, Oxford UK, 2010, p.
127
20
Prendergast J., Bafilemba F., Congo Stories: Battling five centuries of exploitation and greed, Grand Central
Publishing, New York, 2018, p. 279
21
Ballan D., Feminism and Marxism, World View Publishers, 1976, p. 35
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radical feminism) emerged in the 1970s stating that modern society and its constructions (laws,
religion, politics, art, etc.) are basic products of men and therefore have a patriarchal character.

Some feminists of this period felt that the emphasis on criticism against a perceived patriarchy
was quite restrictive and / or misleading, and so feminists soon began to analyze the situation of
women through a class-based Marxist / socialist perspective. According to Marxist theory, in
capitalist societies the consciousness of the individual is largely determined by class relations.
That is, people's abilities, needs and interests are determined by the capitalist mode of production
and the place that each individual has in it.22

Marxist feminists therefore see gender inequality ultimately determined by the capitalist
mode of production and the social divisions associated with classes and the class structure of
society. The subjugation of women is seen as a form of oppression (rather than free
discrimination) that is maintained (like racism) because it serves the interests of capital and the
ruling class. Marxist feminists have also extended traditional Marxist analysis, considering
domestic work as paid work.23

Gender is not something that people have consciously defined or invented. It was a
product of evolution. The idea that gender can be artificially determined by the human will is
arbitrary and philosophically and scientifically false. The fundamental sexual separation is
between male and female. This is of course determined by the reproductive process. This in turn
brings with it the seeds of the division of labor, which at a certain stage became the basis of the
class fragmentation of society.24 The subjugation of women to men, expressed in patriarchal
family relations, coincides with the principles of class society, and will eventually be eliminated
after the abolition of class society itself. Marxists fight for the real emancipation of women and
all other oppressed sections of society. But emancipation cannot be achieved by just fantasizing
that there is no gender. One can imagine oneself being what one likes. But in the end, as the
Marxist feminist theory applies, one is forced to accept material reality beyond the mental
wanderings of philosophical idealism.

On the other hand, one aspect which has fed since a long time ago the theoretical
approach about feminism and gender inequalities, is the one about transnational feminism. Its
22
Shahrzad M., Marxism and Feminism, Zed Books, London, 2015, p. 260
23
Ibid, p. 267
24
Ballan D., Feminism and Marxism, World View Publishers, 1976, p. 49
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approach can be associated to the idea of how globalization and capitalism affect people across
nations, races, genders, classes, and sexualities. Transnational feminism refers to both a
contemporary feminist example and the corresponding activist movement. Both theories and
activist practices deal with the way in which globalization and capitalism affect people in
different nations, races, genders, classes, and sexualities. This movement seeks to critique the
ideologies of traditional white, classical, Western models of feminist practices from a cross-
sectoral approach and how they relate to work, theoretical applications, and analytical practice
on a geopolitical scale.25

The term "transnational" is the reaction and rejection of terms such as "international" and
"global" feminism. Transnational feminists believe that the term "international" places more
emphasis on nation-states as separate entities, and that "global" speaks to liberal feminist theories
of "global brotherhood" that ignore Third World women and color perspectives on gender
inequality and other problems posed by globalization.26

The transnational feminist academic model draws more on postcolonial feminist theories
that emphasize how colonial legacies have shaped and continue to shape the social, economic,
and political oppression of people around the world. Rejects the idea that people from different
regions have the same subjectivities and experiences as gender inequality, also acknowledges
that global capitalism has created similar relations of exploitation and inequality; solidarity and
seek cooperation.27

Transnational feminist practice engages in activist movements around the world that
work together to understand the role of gender, state, race, order, and sexuality in criticizing and
resisting structures of patriarchal, capitalist power. Transnational feminism can be both
considered as being a liberating formation as well as in a practice that has been oppressed and
sometimes consistent with colonialism, racism and imperialism. As a result, she opposes utopian
ideas about "global brotherhood" while at the same time working to lay the foundations for more
productive and equitable social relations between women across borders and cultural
environments.28
25
Standing G., (1989). “Standing Feminization through labor”. World Development, 17(7): 1077 -1095
26
Ibid, p. 1082
27
Collins, L. H.; Machizawa, S.; Rice, J. K., Transnational Psychology of Women: Expanding International and
Intersectional Approaches. American Psychological Association, Washington, D. C., 2019, p. 222
28
Ibid, p. 233
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So according to all the above, it is no also a coincidence, that the feminist philosophes
actually have insisted that the process of economic globalization at the same time has to be
understood in terms of the effects has on women too. The latter anyway make up a proportionate
percentage of the poor people across the world. For instance, Jaggar argues that globalization has
promised many things that are crucial to feminists: peace, prosperity, social justice,
environmental protection, the elimination of racism and ethnocentrism, and, of course, an
increase in the status of women.29

Bibliography

Ballan D., Feminism and Marxism, World View Publishers, 1976

Cilio J., Women’s work in WWII, Vintage Flyer Media, New York -London, 2013

Collins, L. H.; Machizawa, S.; Rice, J. K., Transnational Psychology of Women: Expanding
International and Intersectional Approaches. American Psychological Association, Washington,
D. C., 2019

Cottam K.J., Women in war and resistance: selected biographies of Soviet women soldiers,
Focus Publishing/ R. Pullins Co, Newburyport, MA, 1998

Eder M., The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the
Course of World War II, Sourcebooks, London, 2021

Gazeley I., (2008). “Women’s pay in British industry during the Second World War”. The
Economic History Review, 61(3): 651 -671

Hendrsickson M., (2018). “Lynn Dumenil. The Second Line of Defense: American Women and
World War I. Elizabeth Cobbs. The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers”. The
American Historical Review, 123(4): 1332 -1334

Jaggar, A., 2001, “Is Globalization Good for Women?” Comparative Literature, 53(4): 298–314

Jordan D., Kiras J.D., Lonsdale D.J., Speller I., Tuck C., & Dale Walton C., Understanding
Modern Warfare, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2016

29
Jaggar, A., 2001, “Is Globalization Good for Women?” Comparative Literature, 53(4): 298–314
 12

Lawrence A.M., The Vietnam War: A Concise International History, Oxford University Press,
Oxford UK, 2010

Metinsoy E.M., Ottoman Women during World War I: Everyday Experiences, politics and
conflict, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2017

Prendergast J., Bafilemba F., Congo Stories: Battling five centuries of exploitation and greed,
Grand Central Publishing, New York, 2018

Reese R.R., The Soviet Military Experience: a history of the Soviet Army, 1917- 1991,
Routledge, London, 2000

Shahrzad M., Marxism and Feminism, Zed Books, London, 2015

Standing G., (1989). “Standing Feminization through labor”. World Development, 17(7): 1077 -
1095

Stewart J., Military History: Historical Armies of the World and how they changed the world,
Create Space Independent Publishing, New York, 2016

Standing G., (1989). “Standing Feminization through labor”. World Development, 17(7): 1077 -
1095

Weigley R.F., History of the United States Army, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1984