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    Plan détaillé Texte intégral 1. Can women participate in wars? 2. The roles of women in war 3. Famous women leading soldiers on the battlefields Conclusion Bibliographie Auteur

    History of Women in Ethiopia

    Ce livre est recensé par

    Précédent Suivant
    Table des matières

    Chapter 10

    Women and War

    Margaux Herman

    p. 143-158

    Texte intégral 1. Can women participate in wars? 1.1 “To be a soldier is a male quality, being a woman is being a coward” 1.2 Findings regarding women’s active participation 1.3 The case of pregnant women 2. The roles of women in war 2.1 Motivating to fight 2.2 Preparing, carrying, and collecting food, supplies and weapons 2.3 Informers and active participation 2.4 Nurses 2.5 Peacemakers 3. Famous women leading soldiers on the battlefields 3.1 Known medieval warrior queens 3.2 Ǝtege Ṭaytu and the road to Adwa (1885/1896) 3.3 Women at war during the Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936) and during the resistance (1936–1941) 3.4 Women at war in the post 1941 period Conclusion Bibliographie Auteur

    Texte intégral

    “Wake up men! Protect your country! Leave alone the men! We the women will fight!”
    Ethiopian women’s slogans in 1936.

    1Throughout Ethiopian history, wars have been frequent and generally accepted as being men’s affair. However, women have had a role to play during wartime and have been involved at different levels. Their participation has been studied by historians from medieval times up to the end of the 20th century. Richard and Rita Pankhurst cover the topic over an extended period of time. Margaux Herman focuses on the Middle Ages up to the 16th century. Minale Adugna is interested in the campaign of Adwa (1895–1896) and the Italian occupation (1936–1941), while Tsehai Berhane Selassie has written some biographies of recognised patriots. This chapter will therefore provide an overview of women’s participation in warfare and wartime. The transcription used for the 20th century onwards’ characters is the one used both by Minale Adugna and Tsehai Berhane Selassie.

    1. Can women participate in wars?

    1.1 “To be a soldier is a male quality, being a woman is being a coward”

    2In Oromo groups, women do not belong to the gadaa grades, but they evolved through their husbands’ careers. Only men are engaged in warfare. Different myths are told to justify this social order. One story recounts the failure of women to participate in warfare in ancient times to justify their role in being restricted to only helping with the necessary preparations.

    Source 40. The failure of women to participate in warfare in Guji-Oromo tales

    “Women fighters went to war in a group of ten. They raided animals and other belongings (waatoo, used for perfume) from the enemy and headed back to their camp. However, the enemy followed them to retrieve the raided animals and the waatoo. (… the troop finally surrendered the animals but retained the waatoo. Back home, it is recounted that they had difficulties counting each other). Finally, they wanted to be sure about their number and sought help from a man to count them. The man asked them to sit down, counted ten of them, and reported that no member had died. It is said that because of this incompetence, women were declared unfit for fighting.”
    Dejene N. Debsu, “Gender and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: An Ethnographic Analysis of Guji-Oromo Women’s Customary Rights,” African Study Monographs 30, no. 1 (March 2009): 15–36.

    3In the same manner, in the Christian kingdom in the highlands, a coward was insulted and regarded as a woman. Many examples are found in Ethiopian sources over time.

    Source 41. Cowards should be considered as women

    Decree issued by King Mǝnǝlik in November 1888: “The man who handles a lance and does not come to this expedition is a woman and no more a man. He shall be called by the name of his wife, and have no share in their common wealth. She may take everything.”
    Tekle Tsadiq Mekuria, Atse Yohanisina ya-Ityopia andinat (Addis Ababa: Kuraz Publishing Agency, 1982 E.C.), 517, quoted in Minale Adugna, Women and Warfare in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: OSSREA, 2001), 3.

    4In more recent times, Gebru Tareke, dealing with the Second Wayane movement (1975–1991), indicates that the fighters in the First Wayane movement were all men and were “quite chauvinistic” saying that “it was common to dress prisoners of war, spies, and collaborators in women’s garments, and parade them on market days, the implication being that they were as weak as women.”

    1.2 Findings regarding women’s active participation

    5In medieval and modern times, it was not uncommon for women to carry weapons. In the 17th century, women of the aristocracy were reported to be “mounted mule or horse, spears in their hands with their belts tightened and their shämas or togas draped over their heads.” King Iyasu issued a decree against the practice in 1691.

    Source 42. Iyasu’s proclamation on women

    On the 18th of ter 1691, Iyasu settled his camp at Djäfdjäf where he had the herald proclaim that: “the girls of the country must not ride astride mules, because before these girls took the habit of riding mules with saddles, tightening the belts of their shirts, covering their heads with their shammas, dressing and walking like men, and holding a long spear in their hand. They were marching on the road of the expedition, like men.”
    Ignazio Guidi, Annales Iohannis I, Iyasu I et Bakaffa (Louvain: Peeters, 1961 [1903]), vol. 2, 157.

    6In the highlands, a šaläqa, the owner of a special type of land known as dämbägna, was expected to register for damb, or “military” service. These lands became hereditary and subject to custom. It is generally accepted that women could not inherit them, but exceptions can be found. Until the mid-19th century, daughters could inherit war material in the absence of a male successor. In addition, when a male šaläqa died (or was ill) and had a young son, women acted as his guardians and therefore had to come to the forefront, even if they did not always wield weapons in battle.

    7There are examples of women who had acquired dämbägna and were therefore expected to fulfill the duties associated with their land. They usually used a proxy (or male intermediary), but had to raise soldiers and to follow their troops on marches. Ethiopia’s first written constitution in 1931 affected women’s right to inherit land, including military land. However, examples of women patriots taking on military roles after the death of their father or husband are well known.

    Source 43. The prohibition of women to enlist in military expeditions (1931)

    One letter of the Minister of Pen, Tsehafe Tezaz Wäldä Mäsqal, dated Miyazya 26, 1926 CE, which was addressed to the minister of war, for instance, did prohibit the enlistment of women in military expeditions: “… [the daughter of a deceased officer and soldier]… is no longer to enlist in the damb and is no longer to hold the rifle but she should be eligible to receive… the security towards the upbringing of the dead officer’s or soldier’s sons who are not yet of age to enlist in the damb, and to hold the rifle until the boys reach 15 years.”
    Tsehai Berhane Selassie, “Women Guerrilla Fighters,” NorthEast African Studies 1, no. 3 (1980), 76–77, quoted in Minale Adugna, Women and Warfare in Ethiopia (op. cit.), 21.

    Source 44. The women shall learn the use of military arms (1935)

    In his speech to the parliament on the eve of the war, King Ḫaylä Śellase called for the unreserved contribution of women: “… our women must be taught to nurse the wounded and even to fight. We shall be glad if in Ethiopia, as in some other countries, the women learn the use of military arms and undergo military exercises.”
    W.J. Makin, War over Ethiopia (London: Jarolds Ltd, 1935), 102–3, quoted in Minale Adugna. Women and Warfare in Ethiopia (op. cit.), 21.

    8On the contrary, certain war decrees ordered women to take part in military expeditions, such as in 1771, when ras Mika’el Sehul declared that female fief holders should actually lead their soldiers into battle. Similarly, in the first quarter of the 19th century, ras Gugsa issued a decree stating: “One who does not join the army of Gugsa, man and woman, will lose his genitals and her breasts, respectively.” Wars affected women in many ways but women always responded to a mobilization order as soon as they heard it.

    1.3 The case of pregnant women

    9Pregnant women were generally not allowed to join military expeditions, but some are reported to have joined military expeditions by hiding their pregnancy. In Somali communities, pregnant wives of war leaders are said to have participated in wars because they were seen as a rallying force if their husbands fell. It was also believed that a son born in battle would be very brave. Dəl Wämbära, the wife of Imam Aḥmad in the 16th century, also gave birth during warfare. Despite these exceptions, pregnant women were generally not allowed because of the difficulties of the long marches. However, pregnancy could not be completely avoided, especially during prolonged campaigns, as is reported to have been common during the Italo-Ethiopian war of 1936–41.

    2. The roles of women in war

    10In times of peace, women glorified bravery and patriotism by honoring brave warriors, especially if they were related to them, as they could claim privilege in society.

    11Medieval historical sources indicate that women accompanied the army in its campaigns as providers of various services. According to the literature, number of camp followers was often greater than the number of combatants, sometimes even twice as many, and was mainly made up of women. These women had to keep up with the army, often walking 10 to 20 miles a day and enduring the same harsh conditions. Only the wives of high officials and royal families were allowed to ride mules.

    Source 45. The composition of the army at the battle of Adwa (1896)

    For the Battle of Adwa, estimations indicate that the army was composed of more than 130,000 combatants and that the camps followers might have numbered from 30,000 to 70,000 people (men and women). Given the fact that most often the majority of the camp followers in military expeditions were women, one can safely assume that on average no fewer than 20–30,000 women participated in the campaign of Adwa.
    Minale Adugna, Women and Warfare in Ethiopia (op. cit.), 17.

    2.1 Motivating to fight

    12Many sources, from medieval to more recent times, report that women encouraged men to join military expeditions before the outbreak of war. Once mobilized, they followed the army, “singing, laughing and frolicking as if they were at a party,” thus providing a moral force behind the troops. During the war against the Italians in 1936, the role of women as propagandists inspiring patriotism, even as composers of songs was recognized, such as Shäwareged Gädlä, Käbbädächch Seyyum Mängäsha (ከበደች ሥዩም መንገሻ), Sənəddu Gäbru (usually written Shewareged Gedle, Kebedech Seyum and Senedu Gebru), among many others.

    Source 46. Queen Taytu motivating the soldiers on battefield

    According to the king’s chronicler: “Ǝtege Ṭaytu seeing some soldiers hesitating cried to them with all her strength, ‘courage, victory is ours, strike.’ The soldiers could not run away when encouraged by women and returned to the fighting.”
    Chris Prouty, Empress Ṭaytu and Menelik II (London: Ravens Educational & Development Services, 1986), 156–57.

    13The same traditional role is reported in Oromo societies. A custom related to the wife anointing her husband with butter when he goes to war, and blessing him, “Waaqni nagaan si galchu,” meaning “Waaqa bring you back home safely,” while handing him the spear, testifies to this role.

    2.2 Preparing, carrying, and collecting food, supplies and weapons

    14During mobilisation and the march, women performed many tasks depending on their rank. Elite women had supervisory roles. In the military camps, women prepared food and drink, so they had the arduous task of transporting food and goods including various utensils such as pots for making tej (hydromel), tella (local beer), wot (stew), baking pans for making bread, mills for grinding flour, jars of honey, horns for drinks, baskets, grinding stones etc.

    15Women had to fetch water and collect firewood. Some were in charge of preparing the campsite by digging trenches and clearing the camp and the roads. Women also had to stay awake at night as they were responsible for looking after property, ammunition, prisoners and animals. After the battles, women were responsible for collecting booty and ammunition from captives, the dead and wounded.

    Source 47. Taytu and her women supplying the soldiers

    Ǝtege Ṭaytu mobilized the women to supply water to the fighters and the wounded: “The empress collected her 10–12,000 women in the camp and issued water jugs to all of them. This army of another type filled their jugs at the river and was ready to carry water to those who fought whenever in need. Meanwhile other women were busy redistributing rifles and bullets of the wounded and that of their dead menfolk and captives of war to the combatants.”
    Chris Prouty, Empress Ṭaytu and Menelik II (op. cit.), 159, quoted in Minale Adugna, Women and Warfare in Ethiopia (op. cit.), 20.

    16In August 1935, Princess Tsehay, the daughter of the king, founded the Ethiopian Women’s Welfare Association (EWWA) under the patronage of Ǝtege Mänän. With the help of Lady Barton, the wife of the British Ambassador, they supervised the preparation of clothes, mattresses, gas masks, bandages and rations for the troops. They also raised money for the association and the Red Cross. Some women, like wäyzäro* Shewareged Gedle, sold their property to buy clothes, medicine, bullets and rifles and gave financial support to the Red Cross.

    2.3 Informers and active participation

    17Women also served the army by misleading the enemy and acting as correspondents between the scattered or divided army units. During the Battle of Adwa in 1896, the women of Adigrat are said to have attacked the Italians and cut off telegraph lines. In 1936, women are also remembered for sending avalanches of stones from hilltops and setting fire to the Italian camps. Women gathered information and participated in the intelligence services as they were less suspicious. They demonstrated this talent at the Battle of Adwa, during the resistance against the Italians (1936–1941) or within the Central Committee of Wust Arbegnoch (Inner Patriots). Reports and oral sources highlight the role of Ethiopian women who married Italians (or who were their concubines) and who shared with the patriots the military secrets revealed by their husbands. Domestic servants of the Italians, sellers who had access to military camps and residences, and women who ran drinking houses in the towns also played the same role. Conversely, they also supplied the enemy with false information.

    Source 48. Examples of patriotic women’s actions

    Sylvia Pankhurst in the Ethiopia Observer (1957) stated that the female patriot Shewareged Gedle had organized an elite Ethiopian intelligence service to gather more arms while leading the Ethiopian guerilla fighters to the locale of Addis Alem to defeat an Italian fortification. Captured by the Italians, Pankhurst describes her strength: “She was captured by the Italians and tortured by them with electricity to compel her to disclose her accomplices; despite all their cruelties, she preserved silence.”
    Very active in the diplomatic campaign, Princess Tsehay made an address to the Women’s Advisory Council of the League of Nations, against the use of mustard gas by Italy: “For seven days without break the enemy have been bombing the armies and peoples of my country including women and children with terrible gasses… Against this cruel gas we have no protection… This suffering and torture are beyond description…”
    New Times and Ethiopian News, 22 March 1936.

    2.4 Nurses

    18Women facilitated burials and are well documented for caring for the wounded from the 16th century sources relating to the conflict against ‘Adal to 20th century sources. For example, against the Italians, women assisted members of the Red Cross in carrying the wounded, providing first aid or full nursing services, using traditional medicines made from the roots, barks, fruits and leaves of various trees. Women like wäyzäro* Kebedech Seyum are remembered for caring for the wounded, and Senedu Gebru for learning the techniques of modern nursing. The latter joined the Holäta Military Academy (ሆለታ የጦር ትምህርት ቤት) with her sister Desta Gebru and wäyzäro* Tsege Mengesha. Wearing uniforms and hats with Red Cross insignia, they served the cadets, nursing both combatants and civilians suffering from gunshot wounds, burns and poison gas. They worked with ras Imru in the Wälläga, Illubabor and the Gibe regions.

    2.5 Peacemakers

    19Another role of women during the wars was attributed to the widows as peacemakers. Acting between two camps, women were the privileged mediators for the signing of peace treaties. For example, in 1865, a mourner from Bulga nicknamed “Ǝnnat Awaju” (literally ‘mother of a proclamation’), tried to stop the war between Mǝnǝlik and Bǝzabeh.

    Source 49. Radio appeal of Etege Mänän in 1935

    On 13 September 1935, Etege Mänän made a radio appeal: “… There is still time for those who desire justice to take action to end the most unjust of wars… I, therefore, appeal to France the emblem of equality, fraternity and liberty; to Great Britain, defender of justice; for all races and to the whole world to abandon all further delay in saving my country. (…) “Women of the world unite. Demand with one voice that we may be spared the honor of useless bloodshed.”
    New Times and Ethiopian News (May 9, 1936), quoted in Minale Adugna, Women and Warfare in Ethiopia (op. cit.), 23.

    20In Oromo societies, women have also traditionally acted as peacemakers, as seen in the conflicts that arose between the Guji and the Boräna. While the former wanted peace, they sent a lichoo, a female peace envoy, to the hayyu, the judge of the opposing group. The custom commands respect for a lichoo and protects her from any harm. Some cases are known of men being sent as lichoo in minor conflicts, but women were usually chosen for serious conflicts. The lichoo prepares the ground for major peace talks, determines the venue for the meeting and reports back to her respective hayyus. In Garri and Boräna (two pastoralist communities), women taught their children the importance of peace and advised their husbands. In Arsi and Sidaama, women intervene to prevent conflicts. When women notice that a fight is about to break out, they untie their waistbands, tie them together in long strips and hold the ends to form a line. As soon as the men see that line, they retreat to their respective regions. Women are also used to avoid conflict by being given as wives to a leader of the opposing group in order to prevent further conflict and ensure lasting peace. This practice is widespread in both the Amhara and Təgray cultures. Historically, it has been widely used by the elite since medieval times, as it was the case of Queen Ǝleni in the 15th century to prevent conflict with the Hadiyya. At the community or village level, older women usually settle disputes and reconcile individuals or groups when they come into conflict.

    21Women have also played an important role in returning to peace after war. For example, EWWA’s contribution to peaceful life continued after the conflict with the Italians and the liberation. Members of the association who had been in exile returned and re-established EWWA by uniting the two women associations (EWWA and the Ethiopian Patriots Women’s Association). The association primarily dealt with the aftermath of the war by providing food and temporary shelter for orphans and homeless widows. In addition, Princess Tsehay, who had returned as a trained nurse, provided medical services in the capital through the association.

    3. Famous women leading soldiers on the battlefields

    22Since ancient times, some prominent women have been reported to have played decisive roles in military affairs, starting or ending wars and in leading the army into battle.

    3.1 Known medieval warrior queens

    23According to M. Herman in 2020, there are references to the role of women as war leaders since the Aksumite period. The first was a semi-legendary queen from the 10th century known as Gudit /Yodit. Described in many sources as a cruel woman who brought destruction and ended the Aksumite kingdom, she is remembered as a great military leader. In the late 15th century, Queen Ǝleni, a former Muslim who became the wife of King Zär’a Ya‘ǝqob (1434–1468) and remained at court until her death in 1524, is remembered for her involvement in the Muslim-Christian conflicts. Initially, she pursued a policy of reconciliation with the kingdom’s Muslim neighbours. However, in the early 16th century, as the conflicts intensified, she instigated a diplomatic mission to Portugal in 1512–1513, asking King Emmanuel to form a military alliance against the Muslims. Although nothing happened with the first Portuguese mission at the court in 1520, she paved the way for the later Portuguese military action that arrived in Massäwa in 1541. At that time, two other women presented below are remembered in local and external sources for their participation as military leaders as shown in the article by Herman (2020).

    Queen Säblä Wängel

    After the death of her husband, Ləbnä Dəngəl, in 1540, she, exiled to the monastery of Däbrä Damo, welcomed and accompanied the Portuguese military mission which arrived in the summer 1541. Her role in wartime is attested both by chroniclers and Portuguese. She rallied local support, secured supplies and advised the Portuguese in leading different attacks. She accompanied them throughout the campaign and with her ladies helped in nursing the wounded. After the death of the imam in 1543, she acted as a diplomat to negotiate the return of her son, Minas, captured previously in 1539 by the Muslim forces.

    Bati Dəl Wämbära

    She was the daughter of Māḥfūz, who led attacks against the Christian kingdom until 1516. Tradition claimed that she motivated her husband, the imam Aḥmad, to avenge the death of her father. She participated in the expeditions despite the protestation of his soldiers. She is said to have marched when pregnant and delivered two sons during the campaigns of 1531 and 1533. Next to her, other women campaigned as Hajirah or Ferdusah. After the death of her husband in 1543, she negotiated the return of her son, taken captive in 1543, with Säblä Wangel. Later, in 1552, she married the nephew of the imam Emir Nur Ibn Mujadid, and again motivated him to avenge the death of her husband, which he managed to achieve in 1559, killing King Gälawdewos.

    3.2 Ǝtege Ṭaytu and the road to Adwa (1885/1896)

    24According to Minale Adugna (2001), some famous queens played a military role in the 19th century. Harold Marcus, for example, documents the story of Queen Worqitu of Wällo as the queen who helped Mǝnǝlik to gain his crown, and who granted him a safe route through her territory in 1865 after he escaped from King Tewodros’ prison. Ǝtege* Mänän (usually spelled Menen in secondary sources) is also remembered for her participation in battles during the ‘Era of the Princes.’ For example, against the Egyptian invasion, she is said to have had 20,000 soldiers under her command.

    25Ǝtege Ṭaytu, the wife of King Mǝnǝlik II, is the most famous queen of the century, also remembered as a decisive player in the Adwa campaign of 1896. Following the publication of the Italian version of Article XVII of the Wuchale Treaty (signed on 2 May 1889), which reduced Ethiopia to the status of an Italian colony, she rebuked the Ethiopian translator of the treaty, grazmach Yosef, and refused to compromise with the Italians, leading to the abrogation of the treaty in February 1893 and making war inevitable.

    Source 50. Queen Taytu refused the Protectorate status for Ethiopia

    Ṭaytu declared that she preferred war to accepting protectorate status for Ethiopia and told Antoneli, the Italian auxiliary: “I am a woman and I do not love war, but rather than accepting this [Article XVII] I prefer war.”
    Harold G. Marcus, The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844–1913 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975), 126–27.

    26In September 1895, at the beginning of the mobilisation, she gathered her weavers and potters, sent messages to her estates and ordered them to organise provisions and supplies along the routes of the expedition. Besides her own troops, of about 5,000 infantry and 600 cavalrymen, she had at her disposal about 3,000 rifles, 600 horses and 4 guns. She was accompanied by thousands of female camp followers, whose roles have already been mentioned.

    Source 51. A description of Queen Taytu by grazmach Yosef

    In his letter to Casimir Mondon Vidailhet, grazmach Yosef, wrote: “The Ethiopian heroine empress Ṭaytu distinguished herself through her valour… She advanced with her artillery in front of her and the riflemen to the left and right… when the men in front were attacked by cannon fire, she assembled her forces in a fortified position and ordered them to return the fire from a distance… To prevent the front line from being weakened she returned those bringing prisoners. She also saw to it that those soldiers who had stayed in the rear would get to the front.”
    Minale Adugna. Women and Warfare in Ethiopia (op. cit.), 20.

    27The queen camped with her husband at the reserve position. She took part in the long siege and final surrender of the fortified position of the Italians at Mǝqǝle on 21 January 1896. She strategically advised controlling the water supply to the Italians. On 9 January 1896, 900 men from the Queen’s contingent built a barricade and they stayed there for two weeks, well supplied by the queen with food and drink. The plan worked and the Italians suffering from shortage of water were forced to surrender on 21 January 1896. Both Italian and Ethiopian sources attest the various activities of the Ethiopian women at Adwa.

    28After the victory at Adwa, the Italians had to leave the Tigrean region, but kept their colony in Eritrea, against Ṭaytu’s wish. From there, they launched their invasion of Ethiopia on 3 October 1935.

    Source 52. Queen Taytu’s advice to Emperor Menelik

    The historian R. Greenfield records the queen’s advice to Emperor Mǝnǝlik and his cabinet regarding the Italian encroachment. She warns: “Yield nothing. What you give away today will be a future ladder against your fortress and tomorrow the Italians will come up it into your domains. If you must lose lands lose them at least with your strong right arms.”
    Richard Greenfield, Ethiopia: A New Political History (New York: Praeger, 1965), 122, quoted in Minale Adugna, Women and Warfare in Ethiopia (op. cit.), 23.

    3.3 Women at war during the Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936) and during the resistance (1936–1941)

    29Several writers and scholars have devoted themselves to the study of the Italo-Ethiopian war of 1935–36 and the Ethiopian resistance movement that followed it until 1941. While some have only made passing reference to the role of women during this period, others such as Minale Adugna and Tsehai Berhane Selassie have studied it in detail. Women in the royal family acted mainly through fundraising and international advocacy, as mentioned previously. Only a few princesses took part in the fight. Romana Warq Haile Selassie, the wife of the Governor of Bale, accompanied her husband on the southern fronts until his death in February 1937. She, then, followed ras Desta Damtew until she herself was captured by the people of Adami Tulu when the Italians deported her to Italy. Wäyzäro* Lakech Demisew, a great granddaughter of King Śahlä Śǝllase of Šäwa, also accompanied her husband the däğğazmač Mengesha Aboye to the northern front with a rifle and in men’s uniform.

    30After the massacre of February 1937, following the failed assassination attempt on the Italian viceroy Marshal Rodolfo Grazziani, in which 30,000 Ethiopians of all ages, classes and genders were killed in three days, women’s involvement increased significantly. They participated in the patriotic resistance at all levels: as nurses, informers or combatants. Women include fief-holders of a military type (dämbägna) who led their own contingent. An official document of the Ministry of Defence mentions about 277 women who were included in the list of the patriots who received medals from King Ḫaylä Śǝllase on 20 January 1945. The number of women active in the resistance was in fact much higher. Both written and oral sources agree that the main contribution of women was in the underground work, which was not rewarded with a medal. Women kept the households going, but also undertook production and trade to supply provisions to the fighters. Tsehai Berhane Selassie’s article “Women Guerrilla Fighters” is one of the few published works that deals exclusively with the experiences of women fighters during the occupation. Her article focuses specifically on four women leaders: Lekyelesh Beyan, Shewareged Gedle, Shewanesh Abreha, and Kelemwarq Tiruneh.

    Three short biographies of women leaders

    These short biographies have been made by selecting extracts from the work of Minale Adugna and Tsehai Berhane Selassie.

    Wäyzäro* Lekyelesh Beyan fought at the battle of Maychew on 31 March 1936. Interviewed by Tsehai Berhane Selassie in 1972, she describes how to perform the duty attached to some army land which she had inherited, she took up her father’s gun and carried her four-month-old daughter on her back to join the Kǝmbata army under the command of däğğazmač Meshesha Wolde. Her husband too had a piece of land to defend. After she returned to the capital, she became a guerrilla fighter, fought in Šäwa, took part in an abortive attempt to liberate the capital in the summer of 1936 and went to Jiru. In January 1941, she was taken prisoner until the liberation.

    ***

    Wäyzäro* Shewareged Gedle, called “the lion-hearted woman” and “the Ethiopian Joan of Arc” is said to have learned “to fight with a sword and often practised mock duels with trained and tough soldiers” according to the Ministry of Information (1958 E.C., 49). At the beginning of the conflict, she raised funds and collected first aid medication, mobilising women patriots, with whom she fought in Šäwa. She was frequently put on trial by Italian officials for her activities. Different sources agree that she rendered multiple services in underground patriotic activities. Following the attempt on the life of Grazziani, she was suspected of treason and captured. She was deported to the Italian prison on the island of Sardinia where she was tortured for two years. Having promised not to engage in subversive activities, she was allowed to return home. Conversely, she joined an underground organisation known as Wust Arbäñoč (ዐርበኞች, usually written Wust Arbegnoch “inner patriots”). In the summer of 1940, she was engaged in a plan to attack an Italian ammunition depot in Addis Alǝm, that was finalised with success in November 1940. Then, she fled to Becho in Šäwa. She continued her activity until she was again captured at Kussay in the Gurage region in December 1940. She was later sent to the prison of Akaki near the capital. Sentenced to death, she was saved by the entry of the joint Anglo-Ethiopian army into the capital.

    ***

    Wäyzäro* Kebedech Seyoum, the daughter of ras Seyum Mengesha, was the wife of däğğazmač Abera Kassa. She represented her husband in Sǝlale. After the death of her husband, in July 1936 while trying to liberate the capital, she received his titles and arms and took lead of his army. She fought many battles in Mänz, Tägulät, Ifat, Selalǝ and Mǝrhabǝte. Throughout the battles, she wore men’s uniform. She was already pregnant when she took over the command of the army. She gave birth in the desert and thel left Šäwa for Wälläga with her soldiers. They fought up to southern Goğğam, from where she went into exile in Sudan in 1939, then via Cairo to Jerusalem. She stayed there until the Liberation of Ethiopia in 1941.

    Figure 17. Kebedech Seyoum, a female patriot, c. 1935

    Reproduced from Aregawi Berhe, “Revisiting Resistance in Italian-occupied Ethiopia: The Patriots’ Movement (1936–1941) and the Redefinition of Post-war Ethiopia,” in Abbink et al. (2003, 99).

    3.4 Women at war in the post 1941 period

    31In the post-1941 period, Ethiopia faced a number of rural rebellions and armed struggles. However, little attention has been paid to women’s participation in these movements. In his review of literary work, Belete Bizuneh (2002) pointed out that Gebru Tareke, who studied three of the peasant rebellions between 1941 and 1973, only presents women in connection with the “First Wäyanä” (ቀዳማይ ወያነ) stating that women were “conspicuously absent in (…) leadership, although they sometimes served as intermediaries, messengers, and spies.”

    32Relatively more attention seems to have been paid by journalists and historians to the role of women in the regional separatist movements that developed from the 1960s onwards. Kuwee Kumsa, for example, notes the important role of women both as fighters in the OLF (Oromo Liberation Front) and as providers of material support, but argues that women were not involved in decision-making. For Belete Bizuneh (2002), Kuwee’s work is important because it draws attention to gender bias found not only within the OLF but also in a number of other political movements in the country. However, he also pointed out that this work also presents a biased version of the diverse experiences of Oromo women found in different parts of the country, as attention is mainly focused on a small group of educated Oromo from a particular part of the country and their relationship with the OLF leadership, leaving out a number of other “Oromo women.”

    33During the resistance of the Tigrean People Liberation Front (TPLF) against the Därg (from 1974 to 1991), women also took part in armed conflicts, such as Kahsu Martha and Aregash Adane, an early TPLF fighter and the only woman to serve on the TPLF Central Committee. Armed women fought on both sides, participating in the war directly by fighting on the battlefield and indirectly by supplying the combatants, singing heroic songs, providing intelligence services, and acting as messengers between the combatants and the political elite in the city. They also suffered imprisonment and torture, a story that starts to be uncovered since the last decade.

    Conclusion

    34Despite the apparent patriarchal nature of the society, Ethiopian women played an important role in military affairs. Elite women could act as war leaders, in a diplomatic role and on the battlefields. Women were essential members of the war effort, providing the necessary aid and logistical support. They carried many supplies, guarded the camps at night, cared for the dead and wounded and supplied the soldiers with everything they needed. They also acted as spies, gathering information and misleading the enemy. Finally, Ethiopian women played an active role that clearly demonstrated that “war is not the monopoly of men.” Ethiopian women also helped to sustain society during the war by participating in all productive, reproductive and community activities. They were also active in peacekeeping, using songs and other oral traditions to avert conflicts that were about to break out. They have also contributed to post-conflict reconstruction, showing resilience and using their various associations. Research on the role of women in war is still in its infancy and there is much more to be discovered. What has been left out of this chapter is the history of women as victims of armed conflict, as widows, slaves and prostitutes, or as forced migrants.

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