(PIPSS.org) This article, dedicated to the study of women’s behaviour in times of war, is based on several interviews with “Satenik,” a woman who served as a senior lieutenant and head of a medical battalion during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The article explores the social trajectory and the reasons that led her to go to the front; it reflects on the difficulties faced by a woman at the front, her relations to her fellow soldiers, and the consequences of her confrontation to violence; it shows paradoxically that it was easier for her to find her place at the front, when social norms were temporarily lifted, than after the war. The article concludes with a reflection on gender and national identity through the experience of those rare women who deviated from generally accepted gender roles.
Read More (Issue 17 | 2016) © PIPSS.org
Also in this issue: Nona Shahnazarian, "War is Not Just For Men": Interview With E. Aghaian, Nagorno-Karabakh, 2001
