An Observation about Presence of Women in Sacred Defense

The battle began by the noise of the fighter planes, so soon more other effects were imposed upon the newly established revolution of Iran. The women carried machine guns in their arms and stood against the enemies just like men, and most of them were killed and wandered. Nothing would show the presence of women as well as memories of the sacred defense, memories that determines forms and animates the history of this native land. During the recent years some actions has been taken that are still the first steps to show the effects of presence of women in is eight years of the Sacred defense. So far, all that has been done is just clear and obvious cues from undeniable presence of women. This article is about some memories of women in the sacred defense to prepare some cues to reach the next stage.

News ID: ۱۷۷۳۰۲

سه‌شنبه - ۱۵ دی ۲۰۰۸ / 2008 15 October

Some information about whatever exists:

According to the latest researches a number of about 170 books have been published about effects of women presence on the sacred defense that most of them are story books, articles and cinematography and arranged speeches used in congress and meetings. And a number of about 40 books are about the memories of the women who have taken part in the battlefields due to presence of their kids and the men, or have been in hospitals, military headquarters and battlefields.

There are 40 book about this subject that they have been classified in 4 orally classes:

1 . The books about poisoned women and their oral memories
2 . The oral memories of woman fighters and woman aid
3 . The oral memories of the commander's wives
4 . The complained books about memories of women

The prisoner number 339, the memories of Khadije Mirshekar
The papery files, the memories of Ma'soome Abadi
Face to face with them, the memories of Fatima Nahidi
A window that opens to the sky, the memories of Ma'soomeh Abadi
The age of closed doors, the memories of Fatima Nahidi
The oral memories of woman fighters
In the lanes of Khoramshahr, some memories about the men and women who took part in defend Khoramshahr
The woman fighters, the memories of woman fighters
O.P.D girls, the memories of mina kamaei
Maryam's boots, the memories of Maryam Amjadi
Where the injuries meet, the memories of Mirzaei
Simin flower, the memories of Saham Taghati
On the wings of the angels, memories of Roghye Tadayon , Masoome Ramhormozy , Maryam Vasaval ,
The days, the memories of women in Khoramshahr
The memories of the nurses
The memories of woman fighters from the west and north
Morteza was like a mirror in my life, an interview with Mortazavi's wife who was martyred
The hidden side of the moon, Chamran

Although there are a lot of happenings about women during the years of Sacred defense , but there are not enough number of books about that because in some cases some information has been lost for example there is nothing left about the women who were forced to abandon their town and houses from western and northern areas . No one has done any interviews with these women because of some limitations. But all that is able to be analyzed is researches about sociology and homology and other depends on the other hand a large number of martyred women has been complained and published by some of organizations
Among all of the poisoned women in the Sacred defense, there are only published memories of three of them Nahidi Ebadi Mirshekar because there are a lot of lost memories about this subject and also this subject is so effective on the people who want to read .

After 10 years were passed by, some books were published by some organizations that they do not exist in public libraries.
There are only 10 published books about the memories of woman fighters who have suffered a lot during the war years
They have injured though they were too young to bear wounds and suffer.
Also they have bore a lot of pressures even after the years of the war. For example they have to remind their memories after 10 years after the war, so some information may be lost because actually they are not able to remember which one has happened before or after the other one , they have forgotten the names of some personalities , places and other notes and so on .

However, the books which are published are about some of memories of fighters and most of people like to read them.
There are 2 purposes to collect these memories 1. To identify the commanders of the army to the society
2. To remind the effects of presence of women in the sacred defense
The first goal has been achieved but the second one is able to be reached only in books and articles that it makes them to be forgotten sometimes.
But the important note is the collected memories that exist in the books written by the historians living by that time; for example the book besides the Khin River and the book besides Marivan lake at 6 o’clock are some examples of daily notes written by the mother and the wife of a martyred. The letters of Fahime is a collection of letters written letters by a great woman for her husband. The only book that has stated the memories more closely to kinds of stories is the homeless shoes

Some features of the women who took part in the sacred defense:

It is enough clear that all the women who took part in the Sacred defense hade their special and public features. although they all have the same features of a woman they were all scared to be poisoned and there is nothing else to make them be scared , because the are afraid to be violated by the enemies fighters , but they get rid of these scares by thinking of God and to be died for the God’s sake .
Fatemeh Nahidi describes the first days of prison in the 15th page of the book "the age of the closed doors" like this:
The enemy solders cam to us, one of them wanted o take my hands but I did not let him do that. I was in shock for about an hour later; I was not able to escape from the prison so I thought the best thing for me is death. I thought every thing is over for me and thing I was thinking about was death.
After that I said my prayers and got calmer; but as soon as i remembered the enemy solders all of my body started to shake again.
in the book "the number 339 prisoner" Khadije Mirshekar states :
After I was investigated I was taken to a square big cold salon that it had tow doors in both sides. i was really scared of the cold and cement walls and the silence , I leaned back to the wall . i was thinking of bad things and happenings . I thought as soon one of the doors will be opened and another investigator will be appeared in front of my eyes I said my prayers I felt a little better later the door opened and some one told me that Ali _peace be upon him is here to visit you , he jut looked at me and then left .
I got up I found I was not scared any more and I did not have the bad thoughts.
Although the women were scared to be prisoner, we can see they had an extraordinary bravery. Masoome Ebadi , Fateme Nahid , Halime and Maryam are the 4 poisoned women in the Al - Rashid prison in Baghdad started a hunger strike. They wanted to be moved to the military headquarter to use the possibilities of the Red Cross while they know what would happen to them.
In the book "the age of closed doors”? in 37th page Iranian prisoner girls, state:
We told the jailor you have only 3 days, if you do not move us to the military headquarter we will start our hunger strike. We were so calm and silent during the three days so that they thought we have dispensed, the prisoners in other cells told us to stop that movement.
As soon as the 3 days were passed by we asked the jailor what we wanted before but they asked us to wait more, we did not wait, every one agreed with us, so we started our hunger strike after 17 days Maryam was fallen on the earth. Masoome and Halime screamed a lot, but we did not stop our strike. After the 17 days the members of the Red Cross came to visit us. They took photographs from us and gave us a blue and yellow paper to write a letter to our families. After that we were moved to the military headquarter.
There are only to steps to get to the God
one is to know the out side world and the other one is when you get to God .the women who lived in military headquarters have suffered a lot but most of people can not understand what they have borne during that years .
But the prisoner’s books are more exciting than the books about woman fighters since we can see effects of women on the sacred defense clearly. In the first years of the Sacred defense the women were not permitted to take part in the battlefields be cause of some limitations, actually only men were involved with war. Most parents did not let their daughters to take part in the war since they were afraid to be violated by enemies. So the women even had to stand against their families to take part in the war.
One of the girls from Khoramshahr in the 178th page of the book "in the lanes of Khoramshahr" which is one of the memory books about the sacred defense, states:
I had to stand against my father to stay in Khoramshahr, that day i did that and remained there.
in the boo "O.P.D memories" one of the supporter girls states :
we were working in Firooz Mosqe , my elder brother came there and told me to leave the town , but i did not like to do that because we support solders in here and we make food for them , my brother hit me on my face but I did not follow him . My face was gone purple 20 days later.
in the 80th memory of the 4th edition of the book "the days" it has been stated :
we were so happy but all that we tried to do was to keep even one more person alive . we did not care for our clothes and shoes , there was nothing so that some one was killed be taken to the salon .
Also in the 57th memory of the same memory book solder's moral has been described like this:
the women were working so hard . Most of them were working for more than 3 days nonstop, but as soon as they met each other they cried so as they have not seen each other for 100 years.
The woman fighters were so happy since they found they have played important roles in sacred defense.
But the last memory book is the memories of the martyred Generals and their wives in the years of the war. These classes of books are different from other ones since they show the effects of women on the sacred defense. The women who their husbands let them take part in the war to defend the believes and native lands.
On the 15t page of the book "the hidden side of the moon" ghade, Chamran's wife states:
I saw one of his paintings which had a dark base. There was a candle in the middle of it that was so small in comparison to the darkness. Under the painting he had written maybe I am not able to delight this darkness by this small flame of the candle, but I will show that every one who follows the right thing he is the winner. When I saw his painting I cried a lot. It was so as all of my body is covered by a light.

Fahime in the 140th page of the book "fahima's letters" states:
I am just like lover that is ready to bear every thing for her beloved one, I love you so much but the problem with me is that I want your God more than your self.
This woman is going to let her husband to take part in the battlefield with no worry.
Also in the page 14th of the book "the hidden side of the moon":
After he was martyred, when we read his testament i was so excited to read the part that is about me to see what he has written for me.
I was surprised when I read it he had said I would wait for you if I go to the heaven.
The other feature that these women had was their compatible wit in different situations
The wife of martyred man named zeinaddin says some memories about the travel to Ahvaz in the book “the hidden side of the moon”?:
Ahvaz was interesting for me we put all of the furniture into the back of a land cruiser Toyota to go to Ahvaz. Ahvaz was almost nearby the front line. My family was worried for me i used to tailor clothets or to make food for solders.
Also Mr. Babaei's wife says about the immigration from Ghazvin to Dezfool:
I had to leave my home town to start my life with my husband , Dezfool was a old and wonderful city .I was newly separated from my family to another city .
Also we can see that Ghade has been following Mostafa all over everywhere he was going.
Since the memories of the years of the sacred defense have been written at the same time along, there is no risk for them to be distorted.
Although the readers can not perceive the personalities as they are, but he accepts that these thoughts were undeniably the main causes of victory. In the book "letters of fahime" which is one of the most valuable documents about the sacred defense, she has tried to show her self like an elderly person who wants to give advices to her husband.

Conclusion:
1. Masoome, Fateme, Maryam and Halime are taken each others in their arms in a corner of the cold cell. A big mouse is running around them they have covered their frozen feet by an old cover their nails are large enough to be cut, the jailor gives the nail trimmer once a week to cut either their nail or their hair. Every day one of them had to clean the other ones hair. They are only thinking of the day that they are going out of the prison to their hometown; they practice a song to sing it as soon as they meet Imam Khomaini.

2. The enemy planes bombed the hospital from all of sides; the way that noise comes closer it shows that the enemy planes are coming closer. A lot of windows and glasses are broken, all the salons and halls are full from injured people who need blood to stay alive and there is no way to bring some blood into the town. Farkhonde the thin large woman with honey eyes sees an injured person who was bleeding so as he is a dead corpse.
Farkhonde goes to the blood bank to give blood to the people who need blood. She is happy since she can not go to the battlefield to carry guns in her hands, she can help the injured solders to stay alive.

3. The young woman every night looks at the street for hours in the back of the old window, she was waiting for some one her eyes were going tired. accidentally she heard a voice all of her body started to shake ,she looked back and saw Mehdi's face (she is really beautiful when she smiles) Mehdi said : these street are so tired of your glances ,set them free .the woman was shame ,she was wondering how come Mehdi knows what she is thinking of ?