SOLDIER IN A SKIRT

Contract service has begun for women aged 19-40 in Azerbaijan. This is stipulated in the regulations and conditions for enlistment approved by the Azerbaijani Council of Ministers. According to these regulations, foreigners and individuals without citizenship may also be enlisted as contract servicewomen. So, henceforth any woman who so wishes may join the Azerbaijani armed forces and serve her country. 

This might seem something of a paradox: a woman is a symbol not only of tenderness and fragility, but also of the sanctity of life, whereas the army, of course, means roughness, power and war, although history knows many examples of brave viragos - from the Amazons and Cleopatra to Joan of Arc. The names of Azerbaijani viragos - Tuti Bika, the wife of Fatali xan Qubali, who took part in battle on a par with men, Heyran, Nisa, Bayim, who defeated the troops of the Crimean khan who attacked Sirvan, Fatma xanim Kamina and Nushaba, the tsaritsa of Barda - have gone down in history virtually as icons. And relatively modern history is also rich in women who have played an active part in army and combat life, such as Leyla Mammadbayova, the first woman aviator in the Caucasus, about whose destiny R+ reported only recently.

A woman's life in the army

Of course, it is hard to imagine today's elegant and sophisticated city girls carrying on the glorious military traditions of their distant forbearers, but, strange as it may seen, there are still today members of the fair sex who are prepared to devote their lives to a military career. According to the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, there are now up to 1,000 women in the army. Basically, they work in finance, medicine, behind the scenes and in supplies. Of course, they are not in the front line, but many of them are confident that if the need arises they would be happy to go to the combat zone.

Our heroine - Ulkar (her name has been changed) - is an officer of the reserve. She says joining this structure - Ulkar served in the border troops - was a deliberate move. "When I was 17 and studying at university I submitted an application for a job," she says. "My application was examined but they said I was too young and to come back later. The following year I applied again, but it was only when I was 19 that they took me on."

When she joined up, Ulkar was given the lowest possible rank - junior officer (only a private is more junior), but after a few years she attained the rank of senior lieutenant.  Bearing in mind her young age and the fact that she had gone through every stage to reach this rank, she can speak with experience not just about "daily life in the army" but also about the shaping of one's personality and psychological factors. One should point out straightaway that all women who serve in the army are contract servicewomen, i.e. their service is voluntary. The terms of the contract depend on rank: for sergeants it is three years; for warrant officers 5 years and for officers 20 years. Generally speaking, women's service doesn't differ much from men's. There are the same troop exercises, weapons training, morning parades and sport. Women may work an hour less than men - from 8 am to 6 pm and they do not have to go on night patrol. Although the "fair sex" do not serve at the front, during the Karabakh war there were quite a few women who took part in combat.

The daily regime for servicewomen is just as tough - if there is range firing, they leave at 6 am to be there at 7. They are just as skilful with Kalashnikovs and Makarov pistols as their male counterparts. "It is only the more athletic girls who learn to fire machine guns," Ulkar says, "because they are very heavy weapons. For firing from a prone position there is a mount but when firing from a kneeling position not every woman can take such a weight," she says.

Almost on a par

The requirements for women are only a little below those for men: for example, whereas for men the "pass" number of press-ups is 60, for women it is 30. There are no concessions in shooting, and they are not necessary because it is common knowledge that women are noted for their marksmanship.

Of course, the first question one thinks of when one sees a woman in uniform is: is it hard to get used to discipline? As our heroine says, it is hard at first but the skills you acquire stay with you for the rest of your life. You get accustomed to conforming to established procedures and it feels strange if you break this custom.

But the emotional side of life for women in the army is a separate issue.  "Whenever an officer gave the new recruits a dressing down they would resent it and say: "Who do you think you are, shouting at me like that? My father doesn't even shout like that!" Ulkar recalls.

But everyone learns how to behave gradually. Besides, most of the officers are men. There's no place for shirkers. Basically, the only voluntary decision a woman makes is the decision to join up. The rest of her life is subjected to regulations. Everything - right down to her clothes - is subjected to regulations set out in a 250-page book: skirt, four inches below the knee; jacket - covering the hips; shoes - black, simple, low heels; hairstyle - modest; make-up - restrained, non-provocative. Jewellery is not only prohibited by regulations, but also for safety reasons: for example, earrings could cause a cut when one is shooting, and finger rings could be a cause of serious injuries including loss of a finger. "There was one instance where a chap didn't take off his wedding ring," Ulkar relates. "He went in a KamAZ [type of truck] with the rest, and there are special grooves on the side of the car which you hold on to when you jump from it. His ring caught in the groove and his finger was wrenched off."  So all these bans are exclusively the result of precedents and not undue severity or high-handedness.

Still they are women

But still, women are women for all that. We all know the story of the row between two girls who were bosom friends and went to a party wearing the same dress. But what can you say about an institution where up to 150 women all look the same? So women will do all they can, sometimes in breach of protocol, to "embroider" themselves as much as possible within the prescribed limits - the cut of their skirt, slits, patent leather shoes…"Even on parade women never stand in the same way," our officer says, "The formation has to be just so, but it is broken."

Military service not only rejects initiative, but also any disagreement, dissent or personal opinion. There is only one response to an officer's order and that is "Sir!" Only after carrying out an order does one have the right to contest it in written form. Failure to carry out an order is threatened with a court martial. And the sentence of a court martial is usually severe: a visit to the guardroom or imprisonment, although, where the fair sex is concerned, such a degree of punishment is only carried out on rare occasions.

So why do women choose this difficult path? Of course, let's make no bones about it, it has always been thus - a career in the armed forces is prompted by the desire for a stable, secure life. And status is quite important, too. "Having stripes gives you confidence," our heroine claims. "These feelings are quite different from those you have in "Civvy Street". The vast majority of people have an inexorable deference to uniform; it is nice to be shown respect and one does not encounter problems with red-tape."

That is why although the flow of women entering military colleges may not be great it is not dwindling. There used to be a military training department in some higher education colleges, but it was abolished. The last training department to be closed was at the Medical University. Now, virtually every military structure - the Interior Ministry, the National Security Ministry and the border troops - has its own academy which provides personnel.

Although our hero is not complaining about her own choice, she admits that if she had her life all over again she would not have taken the risk. "Only a woman who has no other commitments in her life should dare to serve in the army. Army life, even in the rear and with a sedentary job in an office can be very harsh," Ulkar says. It is very hard for young girls to organize their personal lives especially if their partner is a civilian.  Not every husband can stand his wife's constant absence and the out-of-hours calls, often at weekends and during holidays. Here, great problems arise if a woman has children, especially very young children. Often, there is no-one to leave them with. This is what causes a high percentage of divorces; there is a regular turnover of personnel because of dismissals caused by violations.

And yet she admits that serving in the army is an honourable job. "As in any team we have our petty intrigues, our internal squabbles and gossiping," she says. "Women will always be women. But if you forget all that, it's an interesting job."

One has to say, strange as it may seem, that although in most countries women in the army are exclusively volunteers and contract soldiers, there are a number of states where service for the fair sex is just as compulsory as it is for men. First and foremost, of course, there is Israel - girls there serve on a par with boys, the only indulgence being in the term of service - 21 months instead of 36. Women are liable for compulsory service in North Korea, Taiwan, Libya, Malaysia, Peru, Benin and Eritrea.