Women Underwears on the Frontline
Cairo: HelloEgy.
Women are women even if they were away 8000 miles from their home. Girls do not give up their special needs even if they were on the frontline, like their make up , beauty tools, and worm shower leaving hair down after a hard day's work.
And even though they are in the desert, it's essential to bring all the toiletries they have at home to allow a little pampering, as well as your non-regulation knickers.
The Army's women 'engagement officers' who fight in the vital battle for hearts and minds across Helmand, have revealed a side of the life women lead on the frontline.
Trained in Pashto, and learned the Afghan language, they accompany infantry on patrols and build relationships with Afghan women in some of the most dangerous parts of Helmand - something local culture forbids their male colleagues from doing.
Alison Baskerville, a former RAF officer, who was granted access to the British Army's Female Engagement Officers (FEOs) and the women at the Afghan National Army's training center in Kabul. She has documented their life style as women soldiers, and the Afghan women as well, through many pictures showed in exhibition entitled 'The White Picture' at Oxo Tower Gallery.
A spokesman for The Royal British Legion, who commissioned her trip, said in a statement for Daily Mail : 'The images captured by Alison highlight how women, both British and Afghan, respond to the often austere conditions in which they find themselves have to deal with and how they maintain their morale and individuality in the face of demanding circumstances.'
Miss Baskerville, who spent six weeks in Helmand, told : 'I'm trying to show the alternative view of life on the front line for women.
'I don't want to highlight that these women are exceptional or different from men. they want to show they're doing this job - to them a very essential job - and it's their passion and drive to do it well.
She adds : 'It was nice to "lift the uniform off" and capture all the things they like to do, like watching a movie . I'm just trying to show the human element of being a female solider.'
During the six weeks Miss Baskerville spent in Helmand, she followed Captain Anna Crossley, 31, a nurse at UCL hospital and Lieutenant Jessica French who spent six months going into villages and small settlements to talk to women and earn their trust.
She was taking photographs of Captain Anna Crossley chatting to Afghan women when they came under gunfire and had to make an escape.
Captain Crossly told that one of the highlights of the tour was 'seeing the absolute fascination of women in the compound when I removed my helmet and protective glasses to speak to them in their own language'.
She added: 'Women are known throughout the world to bring people together, to focus on family and community. Just by being female, even in military uniform, you are seen to promote such things and are therefore more accepted.'
Lieutenant French said: 'The photographs demonstrate the more feminine traits of female soldiers can be used as a strength on operations.'
Both Captain Crossley and Lieutenant French met many brave women in remote parts of Afghanistan where a patriarchal society still reigns.
Captain Crossley told the Guardian: 'In the areas where I was working there is still a long way to go. There are so many things that need to happen. They realize that education is vital in order to secure a brighter future for the women of Helmand” .
Lieutenant French, who is due to return to the country for another six-month tour this year added: 'It's a tough world, but some of the women we met were so determined and positive. I hope they have a better future ahead of them.' |
- PM 59°F 
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