Women Warriors

Throughout recorded history, women have participated in warfare in roles ranging from espionage, planning, leading, and fighting in battles to more gender-specific roles such as caregivers, support personnel, activists, peacemakers, and sex workers and slaves. From legends and oral histories to finds in archaeological excavations and archives, the participation of women in wars is amply documented. In fact, archaeological sites dating from the Iron Age have uncovered ample evidence of women buried with their armor and weaponry. Women have been formally active in the military during the 20th and 21st centuries, even though their participation in combat is still a hotly debated issue today. In 2013, Department of Defense officials informed Congress that the Pentagon was set to lift the ban on women serving in ...