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Milunka Savić
Milunka Savić's brother received call-up papers for mobilization for the Balkan War. She chose to go in his place—cutting her hair and donning men's clothes and joining the Serbian army. Some of the awards she received include The French Legion of Honor, and the British Medal of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael. She is the most decorated female soldier in world military history.
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Petra Herrera
Disguised as 'Pedro Herrera', she became a mexican soldier in the Mexican Revolution. She, along with 400 other women, aided in the Second Battle of Torreon under the command of Pancho Villa. When she was discovered as a woman, Villa refused to acknowledge her so she left his lines. 1917, she joined Venustiano Carranza, and became a legend for women all across the country.
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Russia's Women's Death Battalion
In May 1917, Maria Bochkareva, persuaded Alexander Kerensky, Russia's new leader, to allow her to form a Women's Battalion. It comprised of over 2,000 volunteers. (photo source: http://media.iwm.org) -
Sabiha Gökçen
She became the first Turkish combat pilot at age 23. She is also recognized as the world's first female fighter pilot. She was selected as the only female pilot for the poster of "The 20 Greatest Aviators in History" published by the United States Air Force in 1996. Gökçen held the post of director of training for the Türkkușsu Flight School, and the rank of lieutenant in the Turkish Air Force.
(photo source: http://merkurbiletodeme.com/) -
Women in French Military
Women began to have more involvement as medical personnel in 1914. By 1939, women were given authorization to enlist with the armed combat services.
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Russian Snipers in World War II
A Central Women’s School of Sniper Training was established in Vishniaki. The school recruited women aged 18-26, physically fit, with at least seven years of education. By the end of the war, the school graduated 1,885 snipers and instructors. Some including some of the deadliest snipers of the Red Army like Lyudmila Pavlichenko who was the top-scoring woman sniper of all time, with 309 confirmed kills, of which 36 were enemy snipers (photo source: http://static4.businessinsider.com/) -
Israel Defense Forces
Women have been part of Israel's military before and after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Women comprised 20% of Israeli forces in 1948, and 33% of all IDF soldiers and 51% of its officers, in 2011. In 1994, the institution was challenged to allow women to become female fighters and Sheri Rahat in 1998, became an F-16 combat navigator and the first female graduate in nearly five decades. (photo source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com) -
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Women in Vietnam War
North Vietnamese women were mobilized into the war effort in the mid-1960s, for support tasks rather than combat. Even those within the army itself mainly worked on medical, liaison, antiaircraft, or bomb-defusing tasks. Women in the North played an important part in shooting down US airplanes and capturing pilots. In the South, meanwhile, more women were recruited by the communist army, but mainly for support functions. -
Norway First Country in NATO to...
Norway became the first country in NATO to allow women in all combat opportunities. This was especially important as that also included submarine capacities. Norwegian women are also subject to the draft in the event of a national mobilization.
(photo source: http://www.nato.int/) -
Combat-Related Employment of Women Trials in Canda
The Minister of National Defence studied the impact of employing men and women in combat units. All military jobs opened to women in 1989, with the exception of submarine service, which opened in 2000. Throughout the 1990s, the introduction of women into the combat arms increased the potential recruiting pool by about 100%. Today, all equipment must be suitable for a mixed-gender force
(photo source: http://natoassociation.ca/) -
European Court of Justice's Decision in Germany
German government changed Article 12, which forbade women to join the armed service after the European Court of Justice found it against equality legislation in a case. While there were around 4,500 women in the military in 2000, there are now just over 18,000, out of a total of 197,000 active soldiers. (photo source: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/) -
Australia Lifts Last Restrictions
Aside from the U.S, Australia will be one of the most recent countries to lift all restrictions requirements. Australia's defense minister announced that the last 7% of positions that had been closed to women—including Special Forces, infantry, and artillery—would be opened up to them. They included a 5-year-transition-plan.
(photo source: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/) -
The Women’s Protection Units of the YPG
Many of these Kurdish women compose the female branch of the YPG militia and US-backed peshmergas (recognized Kurdish soldiers), that have been fighting ISIS back and providing aid to local populations for the past year. Anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 women form the all-female branch of the YPG & are usually 18 to 25 years old. They are instrumental against ISIS because if they are killed by women they believe “they won’t go to heaven”.
(photo source: https://rebelbreeze.files.wordpress.com)
