African Women Try to Change Their Countries’ Militaries

 

For hundreds of years, African women have been important to the peace and security of the continent.

In the 17th century, a group of female soldiers, known as the Women Warriors¹ of Dahomey, defended their homeland against invaders² in what is now the country of Benin.

Eritrean women fought alongside their men during Eritrea’s 30-year fight for independence in the 20th century. The women also healed the wounded and repaired equipment for return to the battlefield.

African women, however, continue to face harassment³ and discrimination at all levels of military service. And when the conflicts ease up, they often receive less recognition than male armed forces members.

Women face trials

In South Africa, changes in gender⁴ policy have led to a slow improvement in the years since the end of racial separation. Women now make up nearly one fourth of the country’s full-time⁵ armed forces. But difficulties remain.

The problems are documented in research by the African Peacekeeping Network and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. Its study found that women are still considered less capable than men in the armed forces.

Women are not permitted to serve in battle and “weapon training was limited to self-defense⁶.” The higher or better-paid jobs were given to men, not women. The report said this “had more to do with the conservative attitudes of broader society towards women, than the military itself.”

In some African countries, women serve in smaller numbers in the armed forces. In others, women are blocked from some duties or barred from joining the military altogether.

Leading armies

That has not prevented some women from rising to the highest positions in their countries' militaries.

For example, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is the longest-serving female defense minister on the African continent. She has been South Africa’s defense minister since 2012. Kenya’s defense minister, Raychelle Omamo, has served since 2013. In the past two years, Kenya and Uganda appointed their first female major generals.

And, Marie-No?lle Koyara has led the Central African Republic’s armed forces for nearly two years.

Elizabeth Fitzsimmons is the United States’ deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs. She told VOA, “We have a democratically elected government [in the Central African Republic]. We have a military with a minister of defense at the head who is a woman. And I think that speaks volumes about the potential for cooperation between the United States and the Central African Republic.”

Peacekeeping role

The United Nations praises the work of women as peacekeepers. It says female peacekeeping soldiers can help bring women in conflict areas into the peace process and give them a voice.

Female peacekeepers can assist victims of sexual violence and protect children from violence in ways male soldiers cannot. In some cultures, only female peacekeepers can speak to women in need of aid. That has led to a higher number of women in civilian⁷ peacekeeping positions, but not in military peacekeeping operations.

In the seven active peacekeeping operations in Africa, women make up less than 4 percent of military personnel.

Bintou Keita of Guinea is the U.N.’s assistant secretary general for peacekeeping operations. She said the U.N. is working to achieve gender parity⁸ by the year 2030.

Keita wrote, "Women peacekeepers act as role models in the local environment, inspiring women and girls in often male-dominated societies to push for their own rights and for participation⁹ in peace processes.”

Fatuma Ahmed is Kenya’s first female major general. She told Kenya CitizenTV, “We have doctors. We have engineers. We have lawyers. We have jet pilots. We have pilots in air defense. … We are spoiled for choice. This is just the beginning.”

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

harassment - n. action of annoying or bothering someone repeatedly

gender - n. the state of being male or female

attitude - n. a feeling or way of thinking that affects a person's behavior

speak volumes - v. to show something very clearly

achieve - v. to reach a goal

parity - n. the state of being equal

1 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

2 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

3 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。

9 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。