Female Soldiers' Sacrifice: Afghanistan's Deadly Toll

Since the start of the Afghanistan War in 2001, at least 153 women have been killed in action while serving in the U.S. military. This figure includes two women who died during the chaotic retreat and evacuation of Kabul airport in August 2021. The majority of these women were killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and some died in military plane crashes.

Women were banned from direct assignment to ground combat units until 2013, when U.S. military regulations changed so that, by 2016, all military jobs were open to women. However, even before this, a growing number of U.S. military units were training and posting all-women counterinsurgency teams alongside male soldiers. These women played critical roles in gathering intelligence and calming victims of special forces raids.

The case fatality rate for females appears greater than for males in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Female soldiers were deployed to access Afghan women and their households in the battle for hearts and minds

Women soldiers were deployed to access Afghan women and their households in the so-called "battle for hearts and minds" during the Afghanistan war. This war began on October 7, 2001, when the US and British militaries carried out an air assault, followed by a ground invasion, in response to the September 11 attacks.

Women were still banned from direct assignment to ground combat units. However, these female soldiers were deployed to interact with Afghan women and children, who were largely inaccessible to male soldiers due to cultural norms. This access allowed female soldiers to play a critical role in gathering intelligence. According to an army handbook from 2011:

> Like all adolescent males, young Afghan males have a natural desire to impress females. Using this desire to interact with and impress females can be advantageous to US military forces when done respectfully to both the female soldier and the adolescent Afghan males. Female soldiers can often obtain different and even more in-depth information from Afghan males than can male soldiers.

The US military presented its female counterinsurgency teams as feminist emblems, while keeping their combat roles hidden. A 2012 army news article quoted a member of one female engagement team (FET) describing the "positive responses from the Afghan population" she believed they had received:

> I think seeing our FET out there gives Afghan women hope that change is coming... They definitely want the freedom American women enjoy.

However, the reality faced by female soldiers on the ground was often very different from this idealistic portrayal. Many of the women deployed to Afghanistan were ill-prepared for the conditions they encountered, particularly when visiting Afghan villages. One soldier, Beth, recalled:

> Imagine huts – and tons of women, men and children in these huts... We had to tell these women: ‘The reason your children are getting sick is because you’re not boiling your water.’ I mean, that’s insane. Look at when the bible was written. Even then, people knew how to boil their water – they talked about clean and unclean, kosher, and that they know what’s going to rot. How did Jesus get the memo and you didn’t?

Despite the challenges, many female soldiers found their deployments rewarding, particularly when they were able to interact with Afghan women and children. Ronda, who was deployed to Kandahar in 2013, recalled:

> Just letting the girls see there’s more out there [in the wider world] than what you have here, that was very empowering. I think they really appreciated it... That first instance when you take off your helmet and they see your hair and see you are female... A lot of times they have never seen a female before who didn’t just take care of the garden and take care of the kids. That was very empowering.

Another soldier, Amanda, who was deployed to Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan, described inspiring local women by sharing stories of life in New York City and her experiences as a female soldier. She recalled:

> You see the light, especially in the females' eyes, when they see other females from a different country – [it] kind of gives them perspective that there is more to the world than Afghanistan.

Female soldiers also played an important role in calming victims of US special forces raids and providing a "motherly touch" to their male colleagues. However, their unofficial combat roles also exposed them to significant dangers. Two female soldiers, Sergeant Nicole Gee and Sergeant Johanny Rosario Pichardo, were killed in a suicide bomb attack during the evacuation of Kabul in August 2021.

Women soldiers played a critical role in gathering intelligence

A 2011 US Army handbook noted that "neither the Soviets in the early 1980s nor the west in the past decade have progressed much beyond Kipling's early 20th-century warning when it comes to understanding Afghan women". It went on to say that "using this desire to interact with and impress females can be advantageous to US military forces".

Women soldiers were deployed to access Afghan women and their households, despite being banned from direct assignment to ground combat units. Their sexuality, which had been the basis for the US military's excuse for avoiding integrating women into combat units, was now seen as an intelligence asset.

Women soldiers were often attached to all-male units and encouraged not to speak openly about their work, which included searching local women at checkpoints and in home raids. They were also responsible for calming victims of US special forces raids.

The intelligence gathered by women soldiers was critical to the US military's mission in Afghanistan. Their recollections of their experiences call into question official narratives of women breaking through the "brass ceiling" of the US military, and of the war being fought in the name of Afghan women's rights and freedom.

Sexuality was seen as an intelligence asset

During the war in Afghanistan, sexuality was seen as an intelligence asset. In a 2011 US Army handbook, sexuality was framed as a tool to gather information from Afghan men:

> Like all adolescent males, young Afghan males have a natural desire to impress females. Using this desire to interact with and impress females can be advantageous to US military forces when done respectfully to both the female soldier and the adolescent Afghan males. Female soldiers can often obtain different and even more in-depth information from Afghan males than can male soldiers.

Women were deployed to access Afghan women and their households in the so-called "battle for hearts and minds". They were also used to search Afghan women and children, and to gather intelligence.

However, the use of sexuality as an intelligence asset was not without consequences. Women who served in these roles often lacked proper training and faced a culture of sexist abuse and resistance from their male colleagues. They were also exposed to the same threats as special forces units and, in a few cases, were killed.

The treatment of female soldiers by the US military and their male counterparts undermines the notion that they were models of feminist liberation for Afghan women. It also calls into question the justification that the war was fought in the name of women's rights and freedom.

Women soldiers were exposed to the same threats as special forces units

Women soldiers were exposed to the same physical dangers as their male counterparts. They were deployed to dangerous locations, such as remote bases, and participated in home raids, where they would kick down the doors of family homes in the middle of the night. They were also responsible for searching local women at checkpoints and in homes.

Women soldiers were also exposed to the same psychological dangers as special forces units. They faced a culture of sexist abuse and degrading treatment from their male colleagues, who spread false rumours about them. Many women soldiers reported being unable to sleep and suffering from anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of their continued exposure to stressful combat situations.

The lack of official recognition of women soldiers' roles in combat posed a barrier to their career advancement and access to healthcare. Their records did not reflect their attachment to combat units, making it difficult for them to prove the link between their injuries and their military service.

The experiences of women soldiers in Afghanistan complicate any simplistic representations of them as trailblazers for equal rights in the military. Their untreated injuries, unrecognised duties, and abusive working conditions create a much more complex picture of subjugation and pathbreaking achievements.

Women soldiers were killed by the same threats as the special forces units to which they were attached

Women soldiers have played a crucial yet often invisible role in the Afghanistan War. Officially, women were banned from direct ground combat assignments. However, many were "temporarily attached" to all-male units and deployed in covert combat missions, gathering intelligence and engaging in counterinsurgency operations. These female soldiers faced the same dangers as their male counterparts and were killed by the same threats.

Between 2010 and 2017, Jennifer Greenburg, a lecturer in International Relations at the University of Sheffield, met and interviewed a number of women who had served on special forces teams and in combat in Afghanistan. These women shared their experiences of being attached to all-male units and the challenges they faced due to their unofficial combat roles.

One interviewee, Beth, described her role as gathering information from Afghan women and children in villages. She accompanied a small group of Green Berets and interacted with the locals. Beth's gender was seen as an "invaluable tool" that allowed her to collect information that her male counterparts could not. She went on home raids and searched women, questioning villagers. However, her records did not reflect her attachment to combat units, which later posed challenges in accessing healthcare and promotions.

Another interviewee, Amelia, spoke of how she and her female colleagues were a valuable asset to their male counterparts. They were not seen as threatening by the Afghan men and were able to obtain information that the men could not. Amelia and her team also played a supportive role for the male soldiers, baking for them and providing a "motherly touch".

The experiences of these women soldiers in Afghanistan highlight the complexities of their roles. While they were able to inspire local women and play a critical part in intelligence-gathering, they also faced sexist abuse and resistance from their male colleagues. Their unofficial combat roles meant that they often lacked official documentation of their duties, which later impacted their access to healthcare and promotions.

The stories of these women soldiers underscore the risks and challenges they faced, serving in a capacity that was technically banned for women at the time. Their contributions and sacrifices should be recognized and honoured, as they faced the same threats and dangers as the special forces units to which they were attached.

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