Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

Levon, no matter how much you try to open people's minds, you can't beat the propaganda. Feminism is a precursor to communism. It is all staged by the oligarchs and you can't fight it. The destruction of Armenian culture began in WWI and what we see today is the result. Kill the family, kill the culture, kill the history, kill the people.

[Federate]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

Karabakh War Changed Women’s Roles for Ever
Women say they are much more prominent in civil and business life due largely to the full part they played in the fighting.
By Karine Ohanyan, Anahit Danielyan - Caucasus
CRS Issue 571,
20 Dec 10


Women in a military unit during the Karabakh War. (Photo: Margarita Taranyan)

The balance of the sexes in Nagorny Karabakh appears to have been permanently changed by the war between Azeris and Armenians, with women retaining the greater equality they gained on the frontline.

Just three ministers and five members of parliament are women, but in the non-governmental and business sectors women often outnumber men.

That is a major reverse for a society that was strictly traditional towards the end of the Soviet period, with women crediting much of the change to the full part they took in the fighting.

“Despite the fact that the main burden in actual fighting was born by men, the role of women in the war was no less important,” said Zhanna Krikorova, chairwoman of the International Cooperation Centre of Nagorny Karabakh, which coordinates connections between non-governmental organisations in Karabakh with international non-governmental bodies.

“Although this goes against the Caucasus mentality, many Karabakh women, despite their traditional place, went to fight alongside men. Others took upon themselves all the difficulties of wartime survival.”

Nagorny Karabakh, although unrecognised internationally, declared independence from Azerbaijan unilaterally and has governed itself unimpeded ever since the ceasefire of 1994.

According to research conducted by the entity’s regional business centre, women adapted much more quickly to the difficulties of post-war life, when the economy was destroyed and trade was restricted by all connections between Nagorny Karabakh and Baku being severed.

“Since Armenian women are responsible for their families, many representatives of the weaker sex used their initiative and became more active. This social activity has been preserved, meaning we have a different kind of life in Karabakh,” Krikorova said.

Nagorny Karabakh was an autonomous region within Soviet Azerbaijan with a majority Armenian population. In 1988, the Armenians appealed to Moscow for their region to be joined to nearby Armenia, sparking ethnic clashes in Baku and elsewhere, in the first major disorders to herald the end of the Soviet Union.

Ordinary women in Nagorny Karabakh threw themselves into the defence of the territory, and some even went to the frontline to serve alongside men, though often as nurses, such as Margarita Taranyan.

“I still do not understand how we managed to save ourselves. I cannot believe that after all those horrible and cold days I managed to preserve good health,” said Taranyan, who served as a nurse from 1992-4.

Now she is a major in the police, with a position in the defence staff. It would once have been rare to see a woman in epaulettes in Nagorny Karabakh, but since the war, it is fairly common, though they do not serve on the frontlines.

“Such lads were killed, one better than the next. And the girls too,” she trailed off, before talking about her friend Margarita whose body they waited until night to recover.

According to men who fought in the war, women have not retreated to their traditional subservient position after the ceasefire. Gagik Avanesyan, an activist from the Movement for Nagorny Karabakh’s Independence, said women often gave blood for the wounded, cooked food, or served as medical orderlies.

“Now of course it is not the war veterans who are so active, but younger women. And I have a sense that young men became more inert, and that women more frequently take the responsibility on themselves,” he said.

But the war did not spare women the traumas associated with violence and fear. Many war veterans have struggled with getting the psychiatric care (http://iwpr.net/report-news/mental-s...h-war-veterans) they need to overcome the horrors of the fighting, and women who served as nurses often do not even have the minimal help that has been available.

“You’d think that I should have been scared then. We’re the weaker sex after all. But I felt no fear at all. There were so many killed and injured, and I understood I could be next, but I had some feeling inside that I would live,” said Anahit Petrosyan, a mother of two from Martakert who continued working as a military nurse in civilian life.

“The fear came later. After the war, when I told someone about the horror I had been through, and it was then I felt this indescribable terror.”

All the same, however, Nagorny Karabakh’s women say they are tougher now than they were, and that the society will not turn back.

“War has so hardened us women,” said Julietta Arustamyan, the widow of a fallen officer and now head of the Harmony non-governmental organisation, which organises cultural events for women. “We lived through so much that if someone told us to sit on a tractor and fly to Mars, we could do it,” she said.

Karine Ohanyan is a freelance reporter. Anahit Danielyan is a correspondent for the Armedia news agency.

http://iwpr.net/report-news/karabakh-war-changed-women%E2%80%99s-roles-ever

[Federate]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

Leading the Platoon in Iraq

BY VICKEN SOSIKIAN

On a cold winter night a large group of US combat helicopter pilots and their wives had gathered at the home of their platoon leader in Colorado. It was an opportunity for the servicemen and their wives to enjoy a light-hearted atmosphere over dinner, drinks and music. It was an opportunity for the wives to get to know one another and bond; an opportunity for the platoon leader to promise all the wives that nothing would be spared to ensure the safety of their husbands; an opportunity, for just a short while, to have some fun before deploying to Iraq for security, reconnaissance and attack missions during the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The pilots flew what is known as the Kiowa Warrior, a combat helicopter, which utilizes .50-Caliber machine guns, 70-mm rockets, air-to-air stinger missiles and Hellfire Missiles. The platoon leader was a “top gun” pilot earning the status by having registered the highest performance marks during flight and weaponry training.

The platoon leader was having a great time seeing all the pilots and their wives enjoy themselves. Everyone was happy, but things got a little more serious when one of the wives approached the platoon leader with tears in her eyes and said: “I am very thankful that you are his leader. My husband respects you so much. He will miss the birth of his first son, but I am comfortable knowing that he is under your command.”

Touched by this vote of confidence, the platoon leader promised to do everything possible to safeguard her husband.


Adrineh Shahijanian was more than their platoon leader. She was their friend and knew each of her pilots and mechanics well. She cared about them and understood the heavy burden of responsibility for their lives and safety.

Shahijanian has been awarded the Army Air Medal and the Bronze Star. She is the 34th female Kiowa Warrior pilot in US history and, likely, the first female Armenian.

“When I first arrived to my unit, there was no female latrine in the pilots’ area. Obviously, there hadn’t been a need for one. I also worked with a few people that definitely liked things the way they were back in the day when only male pilots flew combat airframes. But, in time, even the most stubborn of them had to admit a job well done—whether it be done by a male or female—is a job well done.”

Shahijanian’s mother, Knarik, who worked as the director of the Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan Pre-kindergarten in San Francisco for 29 years, was known for nurturing and caring for all her students. They were like her children and she was like a mother to them. Just in the same way, Adrineh cared for her platoon. She knew each of their difficulties and challenges and, in leading them, she did everything she could to assist them in every way.

Adrineh’s mom was concerned when she learned that her daughter wanted to join the military, and even more, become a combat helicopter pilot. It wasn’t just about Adrineh’s safety. Her father was proud and appreciated the news, but like most Armenian parents, he was concerned about her future. “How will you find an Armenian man? How will you get married and have kids,” he would say.

Adrineh believed in discipline and doing good. She wanted to serve the country that accepted her family and gave them opportunity. She often encouraged others to do so, and explained to her mother that she wanted to practice what she preached. She completely understood her parent’s concern and believed that if she got married one day and if she had children; they would respect her past and value it.

Military policy dictates that combat helicopter pilots would not know exactly when they will be deployed to war. Furthermore, when they are informed of their deployment, they are expected to keep the information fully classified and confidential.

This was especially hard for Adrineh. She was based in Colorado and her parents were in San Francisco. She had no family in Colorado. Her platoon was her family. She would talk with her parents every night on the phone and after being updated about all the developments back home, she would end the conversation by telling her mother that she does not know when she will be deployed—that it can happen any day within the coming month or two. She always made sure to end her conversations by reassuring her mother that everything would be all right.

One February evening she ended her conversation the same way. She just wished she could have had the opportunity to see her parents and hug them and thank them for everything. She knew she was being deployed the following day, but in compliance with military policy, she refrained from saying a word about it to her parents.

The next day, she and about 60 others boarded a plane to Iraq. She explains that often there would be periods of silence on the plane, times during which she could not help but think about the fact that she and her pilots may never return from this mission.

Adrineh did. However, of the eight pilots directly under her command at the time, two did not. Fort Carson’s Third Armored Calvary Regiment, where she served as a platoon leader, suffered the most losses between 2003 and 2005.

Every flight could have been her last. Kiowa Warriors are low flying helicopters, which makes piloting them even more dangerous. Insurgents often targeted them because they knew that Kiowa Warriors are either providing security for an immediately pending ground attack or surveying an area for the purpose of planning a future attack.

“Insurgents would use anything they could to bring us down—from hand-projected rocks, to machine gun fire, to rocket attacks.” Any one of these could have brought the helicopter down and ended it all for Adrineh. However, the entire time she would work to keep her focus on the promise she made to her pilots’ wives.

“Some of our guys were not there to see the birth of their children, so I would organize two-week breaks for the guys to go back home and see their kids.” After days of planning, she had arranged a Chinook helicopter, a large aircraft capable of transporting dozens, to pick up some of her platoon’s pilots (as well as others) and take them to Baghdad; so from there they could go home. Adrineh was happy to make that possible for her guys and with a clear conscience was working with her commander to plan their next mission.

“I have never felt so much anger and guilt as I did when I heard over the radio that the Chinook had been shot down and two of my guys were gone,” she said.

Despite the range of feelings and emotions racing through her heart and mind, Adrineh was a platoon leader and did not have the luxury to take a break. She had to continue her work while putting the trauma she experienced aside.

By the end of her service Adrineh had become an executive officer of some 500 soldiers and reconnaissance helicopter pilots. She was medically discharged in 2004 after suffering injuries when, to avoid RPG fire, she crash-landed her Kiowa Warrior.

“After war, after your injuries are healed, the emotions you had put aside throughout the war begin to surface. It is then that you need to deal with your losses, the damages, the memories,” she explained.

Luckily, there are some good memories as well.

“One of the most memorable experiences was when one day; I came out of my aircraft to talk to some of the local folks with my interpreter in tow. A gentleman in his mid forties read my name tag and exclaimed, “Hye ek???” Just goes to show you, we always connect, wherever we are and whatever the circumstance.” The gentleman invited Adrineh and her interpreter in to his home, where he and his wife offered them some tea and a modest meal.

Adrineh Gouloomian is now a mother of two children. The older child, Garen, recently started attending Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan in San Francisco, where she was once a student.

“We sometimes stereotype gender roles, not out of bad intent but by habit, and it is perfectly fine to break out of those roles. I believe my daughter will be able to push her limits not because I tell her so but by leading by example. I am a combat veteran but I am also an Armenian wife and mother and I believe all these things can exist in harmony. I am proud of all of my roles in life.”

Adrineh is very grateful for everything she experienced. She believes that all of her experiences happened for a reason and will play a role in her and her family’s life. She encourages Armenians and women to do good and be ambassadors of good, to have an influential role in our society, to never be limited or bogged down. “We all can achieve any and all aspirations and can do what we dream of.”

At a time in our society here and around the world, when we still witness abuse of women, unequal reference and treatment of women, under-representation (or non-existence) of women within our government in Armenia, our armed forces in Armenia and our community organizations, Adrineh’s story should serve to motivate and encourage Armenian women… And men.

http://asbarez.com/93544/leading-the-platoon-in-iraq/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Asbarez+%28Asbarez+News%29&utm_content=Twitter

[Eddo211]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

Leading the Platoon in Iraq

Now that's my kind of a girl to rub wings with.

[Tigranakert]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

Nice, that's the way I like it! Respect for this woman. Hope to see more of those in our country, Armenia!

[Tigranakert]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

http://news.am/eng/news/50593.html

60% of leading positions held by women in Armenia

March 08, 2011 | 19:29
At present, women hold only 20% of leading positions in companies worldwide. Only 8% of women hold the posts of president or general manager, ITAR-TASS reports, referring to a survey conducted by the Grant Thornton company in 39 countries.

Among the leaders are Georgia (40%), Russia (36%) and Philippines (35%).

In 2009, 60% of leading positions were held by women in Armenia.

I doubt this is true (sixty percent is a bit exaggerated), but it is good to hear and I hope this process will continue, which it will definitely, even though some Armenians don't want this. Go Armenian women! Without you, our country is doomed. We don't only need you to make kids, but to stand next to us men, to think with us, to fight with us! We can't do without their potential.

We are no muslims and there is no danger for our "culture", times have changed, Armenians don't get children now anyways as in the past, so more integration of women into society won't do more harm than the situation we are in now (most of the men in Armenia are incapable of leading a decent family, let alone a country), on the contrary, it would improve our society. Especially hundreds of thousands of Diaspora Armenian women will become extremely more involved in our society, thus also influencing their families and children. I want to see Armenian girls/women everywhere, in our government, as president, in companies and in our army!

I saw a documentary a time ago, which showed the "culture" in Javakh, where many women are forced to be kidnapped (paxcnel) to get married. I felt ashamed. Are we really so backward? We are no muslims! We are never going to win our struggle this primitive way.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

http://news.am/eng/news/50593.html



I doubt this is true (sixty percent is a bit exaggerated), but it is good to hear and I hope this process will continue, which it will definitely, even though some Armenians don't want this. Go Armenian women! Without you, our country is doomed. We don't only need you to make kids, but to stand next to us men, to think with us, to fight with us!

China ranks high in women CEOs
http://business.asiaone.com/Business...08-267058.html

Australia lags behind Thailand on women bosses according to study
http://www.news.com.au/business/busi...-1226017109168

It's International Women's Day.... a worldwide socialist movement. A tool of globalists.

[levon]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

I'm so f@kin tired of all this socialist propaganda bullsh!t. I don't see how any person who knows of war write something like this.

Despite the fact that the main burden in actual fighting was born by men, the role of women in the war was no less important

How the hell does that make sense? So men take the main burden, to 99.9% of the fighting and 99.9% of the dying => they are 99.9% responsibly for our victory, yet, somehow the role of women was no less important?

There is no end to arrogance of women. If one woman steps foot on the war-zone then lo and behold, suddenly that one woman equals in importance to every man who actually fights and dies.

Damn, and since when does having majority women actually mean progress. Do these idiots realize that if not having women is sexist towards them, then having too many is sexist towards men?

Respect for women? wtf is that? Why is there so much talk about respect for women, but none about respect for men? Women have to earn respect, just as men earn respect. Only in a woman's mind can respect just be given away. And according to the infinite arrogance granted onto women, because of the many b!tch sissies who'd do anything to get in her pants, women should just be given respect simply because they are women. Does it make sense? Only to women and their b!tch toys.

How about next time there is a war, let women take the main burden of fighting and dying, and men can just help out on the front line. Let's see if women will claim that the importance of men was no less than that of women. Most likely, after they see a few of their sisters dye, they will crawl back to their b!tch cave and rant about how these a$$hole men can stand and watch women dye when they safely stand behind the front line and tend to the wounded. Hypocrisy at it's best. You lose if you agree, and lose if you disagree.

F#ck respect for women as a group, just as f#ck respect for men as a group. If women want to be treated equally they should quit seeing themselves as women and earn respect as every other respectably man. Most importantly, f@ck all the b!tch sissy losers who are the reason why even ugly women feel they are somehow superior to men, just because some loser has been up her ass beggin her to get laid.

[Tigranakert]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

What a boring story levon, couldn't you do better than that? It's a waste of your time writing so much nonsense. This topic is not about respect, not for men, nor for women. That's something we have to let individuals define. I am pleading for a bigger role of women in our society, not out of respect, but for the benefit of our country. I will support everything, that is for the best our country.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Armenian women: should play a bigger role in our economy, politics and military.

And according to the infinite arrogance granted onto women, because of the many b!tch sissies who'd do anything to get in her pants, women should just be given respect simply because they are women. Does it make sense? Only to women and their b!tch toys.

Most importantly, f@ck all the b!tch sissy losers who are the reason why even ugly women feel they are somehow superior to men, just because some loser has been up her ass beggin her to get laid.

This part is spot on