ABSTRACT
Historical annals often neglect the role of women in warfare. These women were instrumental in shaping and driving the changes. Societal beliefs about gender and its relationship with security can be traced back to the praise of masculine qualities of these positions in ancient times. For centuries, this favouritism has perpetuated a hierarchy of power and gender. Institutions reflect these power dynamics, creating systemic obstacles in which women, who are considered less capable than men, are prevented from holding high positions. This article explores the crucial role that many women have played in combat over the years, with a particular focus on the two World Wars and Latin American revolutionary movements.
The role of gender bias in security studies
The role of women in warfare is shaped by the social expectations of gender roles and subsequent conceptions of identity that have been constructed in the wider cultural arena, especially at the state and international levels. The way an invading army treats the female population in an occupied territory is determined not only by the orders of their commanders but also by their own personal views on gender roles and attitudes toward women and warfare.
The impact of gendered prejudice in the military is criticized by those who decry the exclusion of women from certain roles; some observers claim that participation in the military sphere is a fundamental criterion in the accomplishment of ‘full citizenship rights’ [3]. Those people use as a primary argument the idea that gender bias in the military field can only reinforce and compound already existing social constructions of gendered roles that are noxious to women and society as a whole.
On the other hand, there are many in support of excluding women from combat duty claiming either that their presence would put the lives of male military personnel at unnecessary risk or that such physical protection of women by men is ‘chivalrous’ or otherwise required, a popular belief still persistent in certain countries and cultures [3].
Feminist scholars like Maya Eichler and Susan Willet highlight that certain beliefs about female nature make women appear more suitable for certain jobs [4]. For example, women peacekeepers are utilized more to help post-conflict communities and victims because of recurring ideas about women being nurturers and peaceful. However, these stereotypical perceptions keep female peacekeepers from participating in the decision-making process and negotiations with governmental leaders.
Studies have also examined how gender influences civil wars. According to Reed M. Wood, rebel groups recruit women because they are a practical resource in the battlefield, but more importantly, they serve as a significant propaganda tool for the domestic and international public to increase cohesion among military groups [4].
Women and the two World Wars
During World War I, most women were prohibited from voting or from serving as military combatants. However, women rights activists saw the war as an opportunity to not only serve their countries, but also gain more rights and independence. With millions of men away from home, women filled manufacturing and agricultural positions on the home front. Others provided support in trenches as nurses, ambulance drivers, translators and, in rare cases, on the battlefield.
As the War raged on, the production of weapons and their quality was of primary significance to win the war. Therefore, women began to be employed in war production and agriculture. In 1914, the German armaments producer Krupp employed almost no women, while by 1917, they made up nearly 30% of its 175,000 workers, and a nationwide total of nearly 1.4 million German women worked as the war labour force. Britain also stepped up its arms production by expanding the employment of women from 3.3 million in July 1914 to 4.7 million in July 1917. Notably, British female military personnel were also entitled to wear uniforms in the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. [15]
The War proved fruitful for African American women in making their first major shift from domestic employment to work in offices and factories. Alice Dunbar Nelson, an American poet and Civil Rights activist wrote: “The women worked as ammunition testers, switchboard operators, stock takers. They went into every kind of factory devoted to the production of war materials, from the most dangerous posts in munition plants to the delicate sewing in aeroplane factories.” [16].
Women in conventional roles also made significant contributions to war. Every housewife in the U.S. was asked to sign a pledge card stating that she would “carry out the directions and advice of the Food Administrator in the conduct of my household, in so far as my circumstances permit.” [15] This meant food preservation, growing vegetables in the backyard, and limiting consumption of meat, wheat, and fat. Most of all, women were expected to bolster the morale of their families at home and loved ones overseas.
The Salvation Army, Red Cross, and many other organizations depended on female volunteers. Thousands of women served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and the Navy Nurse Corps. As of June 1918, there were more than 3,000 American nurses in over 750 in British-run hospitals in France. The Medical Women’s National Association, for example, raised money to send their own doctors overseas to work in hospitals run by the American Red Cross. By the end of the war, nearly 80 female doctors from this organization were working in the devastated regions of Europe, caring for civilians and soldiers and treating diseases such as influenza and typhoid [15].
Women who knew how to drive also volunteered to go overseas to serve as ambulances, truck drivers, or mechanics. They delivered medical supplies, transported patients to hospitals, and drove through an artillery fire to retrieve the wounded. Many female drivers of the Red Cross Motor Service and other ambulance groups used their own cars, including Marie Curie. The latter invented a mobile X-ray unit, radiological cars nicknamed "little Curies," and ultimately trained 150 women to be X-ray operators on the battlefront. Besides, Curie monitored the construction of 200 radiological rooms at various fixed-field hospitals behind battlelines [9].
Aiming to improve communication between the Allied Forces, General John J. Pershing created the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit. It recruited women fluent in French and English to serve as telephone switchboard operators at the Western front. The women received physical training, observed strict military protocols, wore identity discs, and worked very close to the frontlines. These female recruits were nicknamed the “Hello Girls” and became known for their bravery and focus under pressure. However, upon their return to the U.S after the end of the War, the “Hello Girls” did not receive veteran status or benefits [7].
The Women of NASA
Women have been an integral part of NACA/NASA operations since 1922, as mathematicians, astronauts, engineers, and supervisors. As of 2012, women made up one-third of all employees, including 30% supervisors and 20% engineers. As of 2017, 37% of the new hires were female and 50% of the newest class of astronauts were women. At one time, they were not considered to have the aptitude to work at NASA but proved this perception wrong and went on to great things, teaching how to use electronic computers and contributing to putting a man on the moon. They demonstrated that female engineers and mathematicians should not be underestimated. [15]
Women in Latin America’s Revolutions
It is a common misconception that women in Latin American revolutionary movements were confined to auxiliary roles like nursing, cooking, or relaying messages. However, the narrative that depicts women as passive actors, with a characteristic pattern of their extreme eroticization, prevented them from challenging traditional gender norms upon which social hierarchies were and are still based, even when performing specifically ‘male’ tasks such as espionage.
Despite this, women were actively involved as guerrilla fighters, strategists and leaders. They defied societal norms and expectations of that time and spoke up for themselves as women first and for their countries, becoming crucial components of the success of various revolutionary movements.
Women followed armies, treated soldiers’ wounds, and cooked their meals. They were spies, and those of the upper class were among the main conspirators against the Spanish regime. They disseminated information; they were couriers and arm traffickers.
Figures like Manuela Sáenz of the South American liberation movements or the Soldaderas of the Mexican Revolution testify to the revolutionary resilience of Latin American women. Sáenz was often referred to as “Libertadora del Libertador” alongside Simón Bolívar, while the Soldaderas were an integral force in the Mexican revolutionary ranks, playing both combatant and non-combatant roles [2].
Apart from physical involvement, women often provided intellectual fuel, advocating for women’s rights, indigenous rights, and socioeconomic reforms.
The extraordinary figure of Manuela Saenz
On the evening of September 25, 1828, Manuela Sáenz received a letter from her lover. He was not feeling well and asked her to come to the palace. Sáenz found the Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar feverish in his room at the Palacio de San Carlos in Bogotá, Colombia. She read him soothing poetry as he slipped into a warm bath. The pair then climbed into the bed and fell asleep. However, soon after midnight, Sáenz woke up to the dog barking and the sound of footsteps [2].
Twenty-six assassins had come for Bolívar. Sáenz persuaded the revolutionary not to run into the hall and fight the intruders himself, finally convincing him to jump out of the window. When the assassins burst into Bolívar’s room, they only found Sáenz. She played dumb and gave confusing roundabout answers. Frustrated, the conspirators beat her with a flat of their swords.
However, saving Bolívar’s life multiple times is not the only factor that makes Manuela Sáenz extraordinary. Sáenz defied societal convention. She was a spy. She protested for women’s rights. She wore a custom-made Colombian colonel’s uniform [2].
Women in guerrilla movements
In her article, Linda L. Reif examines the significant yet often overlooked role of women in Latin American revolutionary guerrilla movements [14]. Historically perceived as male-dominated, these have seen substantial female participation, with women comprising up to 30% of the guerrilla force in some cases.
The author identifies several factors influencing women's decisions to join guerrilla movements, including systemic socioeconomic inequalities such as low education, income disparities, and limited skills in the labour market. These conditions reinforced their motivation to engage in revolutionary movements to challenge the status-quo. Another aspect was the political repression carried out by authoritarian regimes against women’s rights, prompting them to organize themselves and take up arms in pursuit of political change. However, one must not forget personal circumstances such as losses that convinced women to join the revolutionary cause.
Within these movements, women's roles varied from combatants to intelligence operatives, medical personnel, and logistical supporters. Despite their contributions, they often faced discrimination and were frequently relegated to traditional roles. For example, during the Cuban Revolution, while women were active participants, they were kept from leadership positions.
An interesting figure is that of Beatriz Allende, daughter of the Chilean President Salvador Allende. Educated in revolutionary politics from an early age, Beatriz followed her father’s footsteps, first in the medical field and then in Socialist Party militance. Together with her first cousin, Andrés Pascal, they became founding members of Chile's most radical leftist organization, Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR). After some training in Cuba and in opposition to her father’s commitment to a peaceful path to socialism, Beatriz embraced the MIR's option for armed upheaval as the only way to a successful revolution. She married a Cuban intelligence agent, Luis Fernandez de Oña, in 1970, and through him became a backchannel liaison between Allende's Coalition and the Cuban high command [6].
Does class matter?
While working-class women face barriers to political involvement, they have frequently been members of revolutionary organizations in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. As mentioned before, Chilean working-class women were a decisive factor in the 1970 election of Allende for their great potential to develop class consciousness. Nonetheless, guerrilla movements still held patriarchal attitudes despite their radical orientations, as testified in Che's handbook on guerrilla warfare:
“…a woman can perform her habitual tasks of peacetime; it is very pleasing to a soldier subjected to the extremely hard conditions of life to be able to look forward to a seasoned meal which tastes like something. ... The woman as cook can greatly improve the diet and, furthermore, it is easier to keep her in these domestic tasks; [such duties] are scorned by those [males] who perform them; they are constantly trying to get out of those tasks in order to enter into forces that are actively in combat." [5]
Although, from the above statement, the relegation of women to support operations is evident, there also seem to be strategic motives for it. Women can operate safe houses or store weapons. Acting as wives or mothers, they can assist in entering restricted areas, such as the government, business operations, or prisons. Guerrilla groups may thus assign supportive positions to women for their ability to manipulate patriarchal images to their own advantage.
However, history has presented interesting exceptions and case studies. For instance, in the Tupamaro, Sandinista, and Salvadoran movements, female participation rates (though still lower) reached those of males used for both support operations and combat. The Sandinista and Salvadoran movements further set up platforms that appealed to campesino and working-class women, and hence recruited large numbers of these women despite social barriers [1; 10].
Why have the more recent movements successfully recruited women? First, certain flops could have been avoided if they had tackled the issue of female contribution to the overall national liberation movement. The failure of Che in Bolivia and of "foquismo" throughout Latin America and the decimation of urban movements such as the Brazilian (1969-1971) and even the Tupamaro (1973) point to the increased necessity for popular support in the face of greater repression from the right. Second, there was a risk that the limited recruitment of women would turn them against the revolution. Finally, the emergence of greater sensibility toward feminist struggles across the continent at the beginning of the 1960s led to an increasing number of women becoming involved in political and social struggles.
According to Jane Jaquette, the Tupamaros were the only group (as of 1973) to have developed a detailed position on "revolutionary women" [8], which marked an end to cultural and educational discrimination against women and advocated complementary rather than differential guerrilla tasks. The Tupamaros also developed a program for a revolutionary government, potentially appealing to women. The program called for free education, equitable distribution of income, state control of the health industry, and state aid for the elderly.
Conclusion:
Starting from Ancient times and during the World Wars, the main patriarchal goal was to exploit women’s contributions to warfare while trying to preserve the masculinized privilege of soldiers. However, the rapid development of industry and the necessity of men leaving home to fight have led women to take their workplaces back home. Women have proven essential in conflict, even when relegated to supporting operations by making food for soldiers, medically assisting the wounded in combat, and translating messages. Women also played a strategic role in both the World Wars as propaganda instruments in manifestos and within guerrilla movements to enter warehouses more easily.
Nonetheless, women in warfare have suffered from discrimination that is still persistent in some military fields, considering that the number of female soldiers is not close to that of men, indicating that further progress is still to be made. As of 2022, according to Military OneSource, the Department of Defence website, women constituted an average of 17.5% of all active-duty military personnel in the US Army, totalling nearly 229,000 members. For context, women were first granted the ability to serve as permanent members of armed services under the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, signed into law on June 12, 1948 [16].
Yet, one can take inspiration from the courage of those women who fought for their ideals, even under authoritative and repressive regimes, in strictly political as well as economic and cultural terms.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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