BBC Coverage of Women in Combat

The BBC has a nice set of article about women in combat across the world. Two of the stories are extracted below.

The Canadians have a female commander leading the engineers in Kandahar.

Lt Col Jennie Carignan is based in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan - one of the most dangerous parts of the country - and commands a regiment of engineers and landmine experts.
Col Carignan says the men under her command treat her like any other soldier - but it wasn't always that way.
'I had some tension at the start of my career as a young lieutenant,' she told the BBC's World Update programme.
"But a lot of young lieutenants get that sort of resistance when they come in. Basically, you have to earn your stripes."
Having 23 years in the military under her belt, with missions in the Golan Heights and in Bosnia-Hercegovina, helps her command respect.
"I have grown up with everybody. It's not like I just parachuted in, the brand new girl in town."
As for the commanders of the Afghan National Army, she says she has been surprised at how well she has been received.
"The uniform helps a lot," she says.
"They treat me like they treat any of my male colleagues. In one instance, the Afghan district leader pointed towards me and said they should be doing the same thing."
Whether on the battlefront or home front, life can be equally challenging.

There is also the story of a woman in Eritrea who fought in an insurgency there, alongside the men.

'We were assigned equally, like men, to the front-lines,' she says. 'Women were very important to the revolution.'
She says the aim of the organisation was to bring about social change and, therefore, it wouldn't have been able to do without women - from feeding the army, to providing information and support.
'That's why they included the rights of women in the military code. The role of women actually changed the attitude of men,' she says.
Thousands of young women participated in the struggle. Some of them even became commanders of tank units.
Ms Omer says she felt a sense on empowerment but, as a woman at war, she says she knew she also faced additional risks.
'We were more vulnerable than men,' she says. 'Boys would be tortured, but women would always be raped and tortured and ultimately killed. I never liked that idea, so I would have killed myself before I would be captured.'

By: Brant