Women In The Iran-Iraq War

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The Iran-Iraq war was caused my minor confrontations from both sides that led to a later invasion by Iraq in 1980. The war lasted for eight years and the casualties were great. The invasion of Iran was directly after Iran's Shia Revolution which was a time of internal instability for Iran. Nevertheless, the Iranian population managed to mobilize hundreds of thousands to repel the attack. Iranian women soldiers were especially involved in this war but their service was mostly ignored in Iran. Women of the rural religious class were a significant force in the war against Iraq. An article my the Red Dirt Report, titled Iranian women played big role in Iraq-Iran war. Describes Iranian female involvement in the Iran-Iraq war. It states, “hundreds …show more content…

The Iranian government was initially hesitant in allowing women on the battlefield but they later realized they were a powerful tool. Women not only served as a physical weapon but were also a strategy of psychological warfare. Kelly Oliver states in her book, “Women as Weapons of War” how in Arab Iraq,“notions of chivalry make even the most bloodthirsty fighters squeamish about shooting female soldiers”. (Oliver, pg.42). This strategy proved successful for the Iranian military. Another effective strategy the Iranian government employed was using women as propaganda. The Iranian women wrote letters to Iranian soldiers in order to motivate them. This helped encourage the soldiers to fight not only for the nation but also for their women. Women were a large part of the fighting force in the city of Khorramshahr (southwest of Iran), women made up 25% of the fighters in the city. The article comments, “according to official data 6,420 women were killed during the war, 5,735 were injured, 3,075 disabled and 71 made prisoners by Iraqi forces”. (Olivier, …show more content…

The patriarchy in Iranian society paradoxically aided the war struggle as well. The publishing notes that the women had a positive influence on the Iranian male morale. Iranian soldiers were heavily motivated by the effective use of female propaganda in the war. The government used women to encourage the soldier by espousing the male role as the protector of women and the nation. The publishing states, “Iranian women participated in various capacities... they carried guns, went on surveillance missions, cared for the injured, guarded ammunition depots, organized food drives, and voluntarily donated their material possessions”

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