One such historical figure, Rani of Jhansi, even fought against the British during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. War goddesses, warrior queens and the Amazonsįrom Boudicca, the British Queen who fought the Roman invaders in the first century AD, to Zenobia, the Queen of Syria's Palmyrene Empire who took Egypt from the Romans in the third century – examples of courageous female fighters can be found throughout history. What follows is a look at some of these historical female warriors, and the military women who succeeded them. There are historical examples of women sometimes disguising themselves as men to fight alongside them, and women have also been members of special female battalions and legendary warrior societies.
However, women have actually participated in warfare in less formal capacities for far longer. Its first female fast-jet pilot was Jo Salter, who began serving in this role in 1992. The RAF Regiment, meanwhile, has permitted women to serve directly among its front-line infantry since 2017, and the RAF has also had female pilots going back several decades.
Thus, leaving aside the disbandment of female units between the wars in Britain, women have been a formal part of the military for more than 100 years now.įurthermore, although the British government only officially lifted the ban on women serving in ground close combat roles across the whole of the military in 2018, women have performed in combat roles in a support capacity, such as in artillery, engineering, medical, intelligence, logistics and admin positions, for longer than that. Women served with distinction in the Ulster Defence Regiment since 1973, and in the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment since its formation in 1992, including in the infantry Rifle company role. Most performed support roles away from combat, although during the Second World War some British women did provide support within anti-aircraft batteries, and Britain's then-ally, the Soviet Union, even allowed some women to take part directly in the fighting against the Nazis. The demands of the world wars of the 20th Century meant that women were necessary to the war effort during both conflicts, so they had to be let into the Armed Forces. However, this began to change in more recent history. How the Royal Marines is aiming for its first female commando.Wonder women: The munitionettes who helped Britain win the wars.Traditionally, since it has been one of the most male-dominated spheres, being a woman in the Armed Forces was either impossible in many countries, or, until recently, very difficult. In the 19th century, conscription was often called 'the school of manliness'.
#MILITARY THROUGH THE AGES PROFESSIONAL#
Women have had to carve out a space for themselves in many professional industries, and the military has been no exception. Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan has observed that it seems to be an almost universal assumption across time and global cultures that warfare is and should be a male arena.Īnd indeed, for most of human history, war was seen as men fighting men.
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