Female former combatants aren’t known much to the Lebanese public because they largely remained invisible except for some prominent representatives like Jocelyne Khoueiry or Soha Bechara. Even when you google the Lebanese civil war and look for photographs, women appear mainly as war victims rather than as active participants of the war.
But female combatants existed in the civil war, mainly in the Leftist militias and Christian militias. Their responsibilities ranged from rather traditional roles such as being nurses for the injured male combatants or doing logistical tasks to getting military training and leading women brigades.
In short, women would play all roles that their male counterparts would play. Regarding women as more peaceful human beings merely because of their gender is a false assumption. Women can play significant roles in war, sometimes even better than men – as messengers or weapons smugglers for example, because they’d be less susceptible at checkpoints then men. Also in terms of spreading propaganda, in their families, to their children, but also in public, women often take on important roles.
In post-war Lebanon, when female combatants had to reintegrate into society, they often suffered from a double stigmatization: First because they had been combatants – for a long time regarded as taboo in post-war Lebanon and second because they were women and fighters – something that doesn’t correspond much to traditional understandings of typical women gender roles. Once women lost their position as combatants, there was the possibility that they’d be pushed back to more traditional gender roles after the war had come to an end. However, realities are complex – female as well as male combatants were also often regarded as heroes in their communities.
In short, complex realities should be acknowledged – women, not less than men, can exert all functions in societies, even if they’re infamous – and female combatants existed in the Lebanese civil war. This must be taken into consideration when tackling reintegration processes of former combatants – female “formers” should not be forgotten to be included in the reintegration process.
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Written by Christina Foerch Saab - Program Manager at Fighters for Peace
Christina: holds a Master Degree in Political Sciences and Spanish from the Free University of Berlin. In the year 2000 she moved from Berlin to Beirut where she has been working as filmmaker, journalist, and consultant for NGOs. Being a co-founder of Fighters for Peace, she has specialized in issues such as the memory of the Lebanese civil war, ex-combatants, peace education, media, and arms control and disarmament processes.
Article supported by IFA-ZIVIK
