A Feminist Perspective On War Through The Eyes Of Women Soldiers Served In Iraq And Syria

Abstract

War will not end while women are kept out of power and while power is governed on the historic terms that men established. Women are generally characterized as helpless and in need of protection, especially in the context of war and armed conflicts. Instead of biological factors, this vulnerability is more a consequence of patriarchal, cultural, social and political causes. Altogether, women do not have the same resources, authority and political rights to meet their personal needs or control their environments as men.

This paper is an attempt to analyze the role of women on the Iraq War through a book, The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq written by American writer Helen Benedict. This paper offers an understanding of war from women perspective. It traces how different ideologies are present during narration of the war which ultimately effect women. It shows that war and war historians are biased by their own gender ideologies. In fact the male mythology surrounding war and the adversity of anti-war rhetoric are ideologically grounded in patriarchy. History of war is incomplete without ideological bias and it mostly affects women inside and outside the battle zone. This paper offers a history of Iraq war that is decidedly partisan and women centric.