For centuries, women have been part of battlefields, including on the frontline. So why do we seem to have so much trouble acknowledging and commemorating them?
An Emergency Warning has been issued for Tara, Kogan, Halliford, Wieambilla, Moonie, and Durong in QLD. For the latest, search onThrough poetry, music and film, and in stone, commemorating those who have died in conflict and served in uniform is a crucial part of what makes for a reflective society.Strange then, that there is one class of combatant for whom historians have long held scant regard.
"Both the definition of 'combat' and the definition of 'battlefield' are manipulated to try and say that a proper battlefield is one that only has men on it, and other kinds ... the ones with women on it, they're not serious or they're not real. During the Vietnam War, for instance, repeated American efforts to harass and disrupt Vietcong supply lines along the Ho Chi Minh Trail failed because US commanders refused to recognise the large number of Vietnamese women who traversed and defended the track as enemy soldiers."So, actually completely misunderstand the context, and they misunderstand who they were fighting against," Dr Percy says.
"Yet, when they were given the opportunity, or occasionally when the opportunity was forced upon them, they excelled. They turned out to be really good at it." It was "the longest female-led siege of the English Civil War" and La Trémoille directed her soldiers throughout.While on the other side of the conflict, another British noblewoman, Brilliana Harley, famously led the defence of Brampton Bryan House against Royalist forces.
And while there are still significant issues to be addressed — in particular, the very high levels of sexual assault that exist within the armed forces across the world — there are signs that things have changed for the better, she says.
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