The 'Amazons' Of Kurdistan

This photo from 1992 shows PKK women fighters training in Lebanon

The Amazons of Kurdistan: Female Guerrillas Go To War For The PKK -- International Business Times

Of all the arenas where women’s equality might be an issue, the battlefield is not one that takes high priority.

Warfare is a man’s game by and large. Women are slowly making headway in national armies around the globe -- they make up about 20 percent of the U.S. armed forces, for instance. But even those serving in the world’s most powerful military are still officially barred from most combat roles.

If there is anything resembling a modern counterpart to the Amazons of Greek mythology, it exists not in the West, but in Turkey -- territory where the Amazon legend may in fact have its origins.

Read more ....

Update: Turkey and the PKK: The Kurdish women who take up arms -- BBC

My Comment: I would not call them 'Amazons' .... they are primarily young girls who now find themselves on the front-lines fighting for a cause that they strongly believe in. After decades of conflict and war .... the issue of having women involved in combat (at least for the Kurds) has become moot when one realizes that most of these women have been witness to war for much of their lives.

The BBC analysis on why the PKK has so many women in their ranks is spot on, and is a must read on why the PKK .... unlike most guerrilla movements in the world .... has so many women in their ranks.