Women in War

By

Lindri Riveras

Would somebody explain to me this worldwide, cultural phenomenon where women in the military are routinely underplayed and downplayed?

I see images of brave recruits leaving weeping fathers behind, or returning home to waiting children at the front door, caught in a slow motion run/leap/hug scenario or portrayed as a cog in the wheel of the great military complex secondary to their male counterparts. They trend in stories as survivors of said male counterparts; or swearing god’s revenge for their martyred sons and even that can be heard in any Sunday sermon. However, you never see women get messy in war and there is never a woman’s finger on the trigger, manning a drone or dropping the bomb. Who wants to imagine that mother, that daughter, that sister or that nurturer as a killer for “the cause” covered in blood? Where is the cream filling? No, it’s still a man’s world; that messy war thing.

How do we reconcile it when we’re actually privy to an act of terror committed by a woman, let alone a suicide mission for “the cause”, the very cause that in this particular brand of extremist Islam, subjugates her, mutilates her, rapes her or stones her to death.

A recent New York Times article stated that “the French intend to ask the partner of the female suicide bomber (a woman herself) if she did this under influence, if she did it by ideology, if she did it to aid and abet.” The first and the third indicate coercion by her dominant male not-even-counterpart because that fits our narrative. I can’t imagine that kind of curiosity about an act of terror committed by man. It is also interesting that we apply the word “extremist” to the other guys (or gals, in this instance) because isn’t war in and of itself extreme? But, She was an Islamic Extremist, specifically, a Muslim Islamic Extremist and the looming threat leading to the demise of the American Dream, only second to the infiltrating Mexican illegals. Members only please, and leave your mosques and piñatas at home. The fact is, women have a long history of militant extremism. Hell, there are squads of women enforcing Sharia law on…women. Yes, women. But, it’s not a spectator sport like man-war, not that I want to see women blow themselves up, but give us some credit, damn it! Instead, its ‘move on, nothing to see here’.

Look, there are one and a half billion Muslims in the world, but not one and a half billion people to fear. People are violent and people are peaceful, and not all burkas are created equal.

Lord knows there is no need to rehash violence in the name of God, anyone’s God.

Lindri Riveras 

Lindri Riveras lives on a beautiful lake in Washington State with her husband and two rescue dogs. Lindri had traveled extensively throughout Latin America and is bi-lingugual in English and Spanish. She has taught ESL to immigrants and refugees from Latin America, Vietnam, Eritrea and Somalia at home and abroad. Lindri is the founder and owner of Gallipot All Natural, Handcrafted Skincare, a small, local company founded on the idea of sustainability and simplicity.