A woman’s role in peace and security has always been a topic of hot debate. After decades of victimization, the groundbreaking UN Security Council Resolution 1325 redefined the women’s role and welcomed a feminine approach to peace and mediation processes. The international community watched in awe as leaders like Liberia’s Leymah Gwobee proved that women possess both the agency and determination to make a difference in conflict resolution. In light of the 15th anniversary of Resolution 1325, a wealth of feminist literature has been created recognizing the role of women as harbingers of peace and justice. Governments and NGOs alike have conducted and published studies measuring the significant impact of the women, peace, and security global agenda. However, modern inquiries have historically neglected to question the portrayal of women combatants in armed conflict. Carrie Hamilton, in “The Gender Politics of Political Violence: Women Armed Activists in ETA”, offers an insightful exploration of active participation of women in armed conflict through a study of the Basque case. Hamilton traces a series of patterns throughout 4 decades of the organization’s activism to underline the misogynistic misrepresentation of women in armed conflict.
From the ETA’s founding in 1959, the organization has been marked by a disproportionate number of male armed activists. However, throughout the ETA’s “campaign of violence”, a small number of women have slowly risen in the ranks. As Hamilton points out in her study, their rise to leadership has baffled researchers and the Basque community alike. Providing a stark contrast to traditional portrayals of Basque womanhood, the female ETA leaders left their community scrambling to understand their motives for joining the organization. The women were remarkably successful in executing armed attacks, yet they were still seen by their society as victims. Recalling traditional identities as mothers and wives, the female combatants were portrayed as victims of their own bodies. Overtaken by ‘deviant sexuality’, the women were said to be drawn into the ETA solely through emotional ties with their male members.
Hamilton links several leading hypotheses to illuminate a misogynistic representation of Basque women in conflict creation. As Fernando Reinares suggests in his research, female ETA leaders tend to join the nationalistic organization through their male contacts. Denying the influence of a close community, he suggests that it is rather close emotional ties with men that led the women to participate. While Reinares acknowledges that the women do have an ideological commitment to the cause, he asserts that this is merely secondary motivation. He claims that “whereas men are motivated by their hatred of Spain and all things Spanish, women are driven by their love of a Basque man.” Hamilton then links Reinares’ hypothesis on motivation with Robin Morgan’s popular ‘couple terrorism’ thesis. Once drawn into the organization by a Basque man, the female ETA leader acts as his support system. A Basque ‘Bonnie’ to her Clyde, the leader does not act of her own accord, but rather works to aid her lover in his efforts. Hamilton notes that these women claim to feel significant pressure to ‘prove’ themselves to their male counterparts in the organization.
Hamilton highlights a history of misrepresentation of women in conflict creation. Using the Basque ETA as an example, she highlights a pattern of misattribution of agency. Women are still portrayed as victims of conflict, even as they produce acts of aggression. The motives behind their activism are asserted to be the result of their sexuality and romantic liaisons. While Hamilton brings forth an abundance of similar theses, she ultimately pokes holes in the scholar’s assumptions. Unconvinced that their emotional motivations are limited to their lovers, she suggest that female ETA leaders might be acting in the name of their community and identity. Driven by nationalistic pride for the broader community, she highlights the complex nature of political motivations. While female activists may be encouraged by their male counterparts to commit acts of aggression, women’s role in conflict creation should be considered with greater attention to their personal agency. Through conclusions drawn from the Basque case, we can look at the international female combatant from a new perspective. With non-state activism on the rise, organizations such as ISIL have begun to recruit women for all-female brigades. In a culture that prohibits casual liaisons between sexes, the female jihadis are bound by a perceived moral duty to their fellow women. Although there exists significant cultural differences, the rise of the international female combatant has brought to question the true motivations and capacities of women involved in global conflict creation.