Fascist Italy unleashed its invasion of Ethiopia on 3 October 1935. This came after long years of psychological and material preparation on the side of the Italians. At the root of the Fascist invasion lay the Italian's need to erase the `shameful scar' of their defeat at the battle of Adwa fought on 1 March 1896. They were determined to restore the glory of the old roman empire, besides the motive behind contemporary European imperialist expansion over much of the world (Bahru 1991, 151; Baer 1967, 7-9).
The Italians were already in control of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. Ethiopia remained to be a third country to be conquered to realise the dream of building their empire of Africa Orientale Italiana (Italian East Africa). The former two colonies indeed served the fascist regime as springboards of its invading columns from the north and south, respectively (Bahru 1991, 153-54). Their plan was successful and the centuries-old independence of Ethiopia had fallen under the yoke of Italian Fascist Occupation (1936 - 41).
The balance of power shifted towards the Italians. Despite initial victories at some of their engagements, the Ethiopian soldiers were not able to cope up with Italy's superiority in organization, military leadership, air power, arms, munitions, numerical strength, supplies and provisions, medical services, transportation and communication, etc. Where as Italy was armed to its teeth Ethiopia was suffering from the scarcity of arms and munitions due to an arms embargo by the colonial powers (Ibid, 158-59). A detailed study of the background and factors for the victory of the Italians in 1936 is beyond the scope of this paper. The objective of this part of the paper is to investigate the role of the Ethiopian patriots in general and that of the women in particular in both the conventional combats of the 1935/36 and the subsequent patriotic resistance movements in the five years following Italy's triumphant control of Addis Ababa on 5 May 1936.
By and large, the Italo-Ethiopian war broke out in a decade of controversy within the Ethiopian state on the question of women's status in military affairs. The first written constitution of Ethiopia, promulgated in 1931, made it clear that succession was to be only through the male line thereby affecting the right of women to inherit land, including that of a military type. One letter of the Minister of Pen, Tsehafe Tezaz Wolde Mesqal, dated Miyazya 26, 1926 E.C., which was addressed to the minister of war, for instance, did prohibit the enlistment of women in military expedition. It reads:
...[the daughter of a deceased officer and soldier]...is no longer to enlist in the damb and is no longer to hold the rifle but she should be eligible to receive... the security towards the upbringing of the dead officer's or soldiers' sons who are not yet of age to enlist in the damb, and to hold the rifle until the boys reach 15 years (Tsehay 1980, 76-77).
Hence, women were confined to only caring for their minors. However, the implementation of the state policy lacks uniformity and some regional governors were reported to be "appointing their favourites and disinheriting their enemies" (Ibid). Although the new law could have reduced the number of women involved in military expeditions, this did not materialise since war broke out shortly afterwards. Indeed the mobilization order of Emperor Haile Selassie I issued on 28 September 1935 resorted to the traditional practice by calling on to arms all those who were in the damb and those who had a rifle. There was no clear gender distinction. The Ethiopian feudal lords and their retainers joined the war along the traditional lines, accompanied by camp- followers of both sexes. Women landholders too joined the troops (Ibid, 77). The Emperor himself later on called for the unreserved contribution of women, in his appeal for money with which to purchase arms, in his speech to the parliament on the eve of the war. In this speech, he stated:
...our women must be taught to nurse the wounded and even to fight. We shall be glad if in Ethiopia, as in some other countries, the women learn the use of military arms and undergo military exercises (Makin 1935, 102-103).
George Steer, the British war correspondent, further added that the emperor declared that "Women would play their part in the war going to the fronts to encourage and feed the soldiers and to tend the wounded"(1936, 45). This was actually the traditional role of women in military expeditions. At any rate the emperor's speeches amply demonstrated the government's recognition of women's contribution to war efforts not only along the traditional lines but also by promoting their status in war through modern training that would enable them to participate in combat as well (Greenfield 1965, 210; Seife Selassie 1953 E.C., 86).
On their part, the Ethiopian women responded to the mobilization order of the emperor as enthusiastic as their menfolk. Thus women started their service by calling on men to take up arms. The women did this by tying a slogan to a stick put on a chariot and by pronouncing the message along the major roads of Addis Ababa. Their slogan reads:
Wake up men
Protect your country
Let alone the men
We the women will fight
(Paulos 1980 E.C., 9)
In August 1935, the Association of Ethiopian Women's Welfare Work was founded by Princess Tsehay, daughter of the emperor, under the patronage of Her Majesty Empress Menen. Princess Tsehay was assisted by Lady Barton, wife of the British ambassador, in organizing women of the capital to prepare clothes, mattresses, gas masks, bandages, and to pack rations for the troops. Lady Barton is also reported to have mobilized more than 1000 women in the preparation of Red Cross supplies (Steer 1936, 286; Makin 1935, 199; Ministry of Information 1958 E.C., 50; Waugh 1936, 82). Under her management the women made about 1800 gun masks which was piled and sent to the northern front in April 1935 (Steer 1936, 286).
There was also a meeting in the capital of aristocratic ladies at which a discussion was made on the formation of a local Red Cross unit and on fund raising for the war effort. It is reported that a voluntary subscription by about 500 women including members of the royal family enabled raising a total sum of 33,000 M.T. Thallers. Another report shows that a similar contribution was made by country ladies and women landowners of western Shoa who sent a sum of 120,000 M.T. Thalers to the Welfare Association (Waugh 1936, 82; Makin 1935, 200).
The traditional role of the empress in war was kept up to this day. Though Menen had never led a contingent of her own to any battle like Empress Taitu and Empress Menen (Ras Ali's mother), nor even had she accompanied her husband to any war, Empress Menen was very busy in the capital organizing funds for the various activities of the welfare association and warning people to protect themselves from bombs (Ministry of Information 1954 E.C., 35). On 13 September 1935, she made a radio appeal to women and men of the world in which she stated:
...There is still time for those who desire justice to take action to end the most unjust of wars... I, therefore, appeal to France the emblem of equality, fraternity and liberty; to Great Britain, defender of justice; for all races and to the whole world to abandon all further delay in saving my country (Quoted in New Times and Ethiopian News, 9 May 1936).
Her appeal was part of the diplomatic campaign to be pursued by the emperor following the Wal Wal Incident of December 1934 by which Italy started her fascist aggression. The Empress further stated, "Women of the world unite. Demand with one voice that we may be spared the honour of useless bloodshed"(Ibid).
Likewise, her daughter, Princess Tsehay was very active in the diplomatic campaign. In its issue of 22 March 1936, the New Times and Ethiopian News came out with her protest addressed to Women's Advisory Council of the League of Nations, against the use of mustard gas by Italy. It reads:
For seven days without break the enemy have been bombing the armies and peoples of my country including women and children with terrible gasses... Against this cruel gas we have no protection... This suffering and torture is beyond description...
Having a fluent command of English and French, Princess Tsehay accompanied her father when he left Ethiopia to lay the case of his country before the League of Nations in Geneva, during which she served him as a secretary and a translator. Throughout the period of Italian Occupation (1936 - 41) Princess Tsehay stayed in London attending a medical school and at the same time organizing the activities of the Women's Welfare Association abroad whose main duty was caring for numerous Ethiopian refugees in various countries (Ibid).
In addition to the aforementioned contribution in the mobilization, welfare works and diplomatic activities, the Ethiopian women of those days, like their predecessors, rose up to join their menfolk in battles. They cleaned the rifles and shields and sharpened the swords of their men. They packed provisions and supplies on an individual basis as in the old days. Indeed the bulk of the Ethiopian army was still traditional despite the government's attempts at modernization and therefore was in need of the service of women camp-followers. Of course, the war of 1935/36 did not see the company of royal women and the empress. An exception to this was Princess Romanworq Haile Selassie, wife of the governor of Bale, named Dejazmach Beyene Marid, who accompanied her husband in his fighting at the southern fronts until his death in February 1937. Following his death she followed Ras Desta Damtew until her capture by local people of Adami Tulu where she stayed until the Italians deported her to Italy (Seife Selassie 1953 E.C., 182-83). One can also add Woizero Lakech Demisew, a great granddaughter of King Sahle Selassie of Shoa and wife of Dejazmach Mengesha Aboye, for she accompanied her husband to the northern front holding a rifle and in men's uniform (Tintawit Ityopia Jegnoch Mahber n.d, 9-10).
Women camp-followers were reported to have mainly been engaged in the transportation and preparation of food and drinks for their husbands, brothers and masters. In the event of food scarcity they used to gather fruits and roots of some plants (Gerima 1949 E.C., 194; Mockler 1984, 86-88; Farago 1935, 18).
Likewise, they used to assist members of the Red Cross in carrying the wounded as well as giving first aid or full nursing service using traditional medicines which they prepared from roots, barks, fruits and leaves of various trees. A British transport officer Captain Brophil wrote of their service, "They are fairly good at nursing and are often very successful with their native herbs. After the doctors have dressed the injured the women will take them away to relatives" (Quoted in New Times and Ethiopia News, 8 May 1936).
Yet a very small number of women were reported to have rendered services in modern nursing. The most popular of such women was Woizero Senedu Gebru, who was educated in Switzerland and was married to H.E. Lorenzo Teezaz, Minster of Foreign Affairs. The career of Woizero Senedu was attached to the graduates of Holleta Military Academy which she joined with her sister Desta Gebru and Woizero Tsege Mengesha [her mother?] (Ministry of Information 1958 E.C., 102). There is a reference to the presence of her brother, Lieutenant Meshesha, among the cadets. The officers organized a patriotic organization called Tiqur Anbassa (Black Lion), which began its anti-Fascist resistance movement in western Ethiopia. Senedu and other women wore uniforms and hats with Red Cross marks and served the cadets as "impromptu Red Cross Units," tending not only the fighting men but also the civilians suffering from bullets, burns and poisonous gas. They performed their duty accompanying the cadets in Wellega, Illubabor and the Gibbe region under the leadership of Ras Imiru, who led their unsuccessful campaign to liberate the capital. Senedu was eventually captured with many cadets and was deported to Italy where she was detained for two and a half years. (Pankhurst 1990b, 345).
The bulk of women camp-followers and minstrels played a significant role in inciting their men to fight with valour. They also sounded war trumpets amidst the battle and from the rear (Damte 1950 E.C., 282-83). They harassed the enemy forces by sending down avalanches of stones from hilltops and setting fire to their camps (Gerima 1949 E.C., 295; Salome 1958, 78).
The Italo-Ethiopian war of those days did also witness the engagement of valiant women combatants in the major fronts such as at the battles of Shire, Tembien, Ambaradam, Maichew, etc., and the subsequent patriotic resistance movements. Such women include aristocratic fief - holders of a military type who had to lead their own contingent because of the duties attached to the landholding as well as those who replaced their deceased husbands as military commanders (Salome 1958, 68; Mockler 1984, 178). In any case there are references to valiant women of all classes who fought as bravely as the men in different battles.
Makin refers to an Ethiopian Amazon under the command of Woizero Abebech Cherqos who was a daughter of wealthy landowner. Though there is no other source substantiating his account, Del Boca wrote of the number of her army to have been about 3000. She is said to have fought in Gondar (Makin 1935, 200; Del Boca 1969, 40). A detailed account of women war leaders is, however, available mainly for the period of patriotic guerrilla wars. Below is the exploits of some notable women war leaders who equally shared the burden of patriotic wars of liberation fought throughout the period of 1936 - 41.
The first of these brave war leaders was Woizero Lekyelesh Beyan, who fought under the command of Emperor Haile Selassie at the battle of Maichew on 31 March 1936 (Ministry of Information 1958 E.C., 50). Tsehay Berhane Selassie claims to have interviewed this woman in 1972 and describes that Lekyelesh took up her father's gun and carried her four-month old daughter on her back and joined the Kembata army under the command of Dejazmach Meshesha Wolde. Woizero Lekyelesh had to perform the duty attached to an army land which she inherited in Kembata province, but she could not have a proxy, for her husband too had a piece of land to stand for. As a result both husband and wife joined the campaign at the head of their contingents (Tsehay 1980, 79).
Woizero Lekyelesh and her husband returned to the capital following the defeat of the Ethiopian army in the northern front. However, she did not give up the struggle. Instead she became a guerrilla fighter in Shoa. In the summer of 1936, she joined the abortive attempt of prominent war lords to liberate the capital through a simultaneous attack from different directions. The plan failed due to lack of efficient coordination, but Lekyelesh revealed her undaunted commitment to die for her country. Then she went to Jiru where she continued her patriotic career with her husband who unfortunately lost his life at one of the fierce engagements with the Italians on 10 August 1937 (Ministry of Information 1958 E.C., 50-51). Interviewed on the fall of her husband she is quoted to have remembered:
I could see him firing behind... tall grass. Suddenly he waved to me and fell. I went over to his side leaving my position. He was dead. Enemy soldiers were close by on the other side of the river. Before I started to pull [him] away, I fired across the river and killed three men. I then took his body and his gun and withdrew. The rest of my men were safe. I buried him at the church of Dima Gabriel (Quoted in Tsehay 1980, 79).
This story was supported by a book compiled by the Ministry of Information and published on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee Anniversary celebration of the Liberation.
According to oral informants, many women did join the guerrilla fighters of Shoa and performed bravely. It is said that they did this within a few months following the fall of the capital to the enemy. Of course, many women of the capital joined the guerrilla band leaving their homes open so that "people will not suspect that they have gone away for good" (Tsehay 1980, 78).
By and large the number of women in the actual combat showed a significant increase in patriotic guerrilla wars fought mainly after 1937. There are many reasons for this. Firstly, the triumphant entry of the enemy into the capital at the expense of an immense loss in human and material wealth aroused great nationalist feeling and the need for revenge. Secondly, women were also highly offended by the inhuman treatment at the hands of the Italians engaged in the search for rifles and other war materials. The latter used to flog and jail women that refused to submit rifles or locate the whereabouts of their warrior husbands or brothers. Disarming one's self is intolerable in Ethiopian custom and indeed women prefer dying to surrendering the war materials of their husbands. Informants say that many women used to hide the weapons in latrines, underground stores, water wells, dense forests, etc., if they were unable to flee and join the guerrilla bands nearby. Thirdly, many women left their homes to avoid dishonour at the hands of the fascist rapists. Fourthly, quite a significant number of women joined guerrilla fighters as a result of Italian air bombardment that burnt their homes to ashes and devastated their crops and cattle. Last but no least, most of the patriotic wars were fought in local districts where the chiefs and soldiers had to operate with the whole family (Ibid, 74)
Among all the other events and historic reasons, however, a nationwide anti-fascist patriotic feeling provoked by the general Fascist massacre of February 1937, following the unsuccessful attempt on the life of the Italian viceroy, Marshal Rodolfo Grazziani (Bahru 1991, 167; Greenfield 1965, 224-25). Following the abortive assassination attempt made on February 19, a reign of terror was unleashed in Addis Ababa. On the order of the Italian officials, the Black Shirts were busy murdering any Ethiopian found in the palace (where the assassination was attempted) and on the streets of Addis Ababa for three days. Thousands of Ethiopians were killed with pistol shots, bayonets and daggers. Pregnant women were disemboweled, heads of dead bodies were chopped off, and houses were burnt to ashes with families inside. A contemporary eyewitness account of the wholesale massacre reads:
...the streets were strewn with dead bodies...The method consisted of setting fire and massacring them without distinction. One could see groups of Fascists chaining the poor men to lorries and amusing themselves by dragging them along from one part of the town to another until their bodies fell to pieces. Others entertained themselves by scourging naked women to death under the eyes of their husbands and brothers, who were of course rendered impotent. Blood flew on all sides in torrents... [Houses and human bodies were burnt with petrol and oil.] (Quoted in Mockler 1984, 176; New Times and Ethiopian News 10 April, 1937; Berhanu 1937 E.C., 11).
According to Ethiopian official accounts, about 30,000 Ethiopians of different ages, classes and sex were killed in three days (Mockler 1984, 176; Paulos 1980 E.C., 158).
Anti-fascist struggles and general patriotic feelings had been mounting since the dawn of the Italian occupation in May 1936. It embraced all classes of Ethiopians from all regions (New Times and Ethiopian News 3 July 1937). Of course, the first phase of the struggle revealed the continuation of the major war in the northern and southern fronts and it took a conventional character. It was led by mainly by the upper nobility. This phase lasted until February 1937. The Italian atrocities of 1937 escalated the patriotic struggle and marked the beginning of the second phase which was characterized by a guerrilla warfare in the course of which the Ethiopian women did play a significant role not only as fighters but also in multi-dimensional underground works (Ibid).
The correspondent of the Daily Herald reported that following the massacre of February 1937, Ethiopian women of "the more intellectual type" began to plot against Grazziani, for which more than 1000 women have been exiled after being made `the playthings' of the Italian soldiery." Others were shot in the capital (Ibid). Consequently, the Fascist regime became intolerable to every Ethiopian. Women were no exception.
Of course, it was only a handful of women who led their own army in the guerrilla wars, like Woizero Lekyelesh Beyan, whose career as a guerrilla fighter ended only in January 1941, when she was captured after an Italian air bombardment. The fascists were becoming very harsh in their air attack of the countryside for harbouring resistance fighters. Since August 1940, the patriots were suffering very much and some were dispersed to inaccessible regions while many others were beginning to surrender. Woizero Lekyelesh was captured in a small hut where she resided following a very serious illness. Remembering the event, she is quoted to have said "the attackers threw grenades, opened the door and entered. One of the men hit me with the butt of his gun on my shoulder because he thought I was feigning sleep" (Quoted in Tsehay 1980, 80). She was taken prisoner with her child and stayed in jail until the Liberation.
The second woman worthy of mention for her immense military achievements was Woizero Kebedech Seyoum. She belonged to the royal house of Tigre. She was a daughter of Ras Seyum Mengesha and a great granddaughter of Emperor Yohannis IV (1872 - 89). She was the wife of Dejazmach Abera Kassa, who was killed by the Italians for having unsuccessfully attempted to liberate the capital with the help of his own brother Dejazmach Wondwosen and the renowned patriots of Shoa in July 1936. Woizero Kebedech started her patriotic activity already before the fall of the capital to the Italians. Thus when her husband was fighting in the northern fronts she maintained peace and order in the province of Selale representing the governorship of her husband. In this region, Kebedech also did a propaganda work of inspiring her men to die for their country and not to allow Italian disarmament and subversive activities (New Times and Ethiopian News, 10 July 1937; Ministry of Information 1958 E.C., 49; Tintawit Ethiopia Jegnoch Mahber, her archive, 1-2).
After the return of her husband from the northern front, she was engaged in taking care of the wounded and reinforcing his army with provisions and supplies. She accompanied her husband in the campaign of July 1936 to liberate the capital. The attempt earned her husband frequent harassment and a call for him to surrender to the Italians. Before he discussed the issue with his brother and surrendered himself, Dejazmach Abera sent his wife to Adisge, where she shortly afterwards received his letter and arms. The letter contained his justification for surrendering. He wrote his wife that he did not want to save his life at the expense of his innocent men whom, he feared, the Italians would massacre on failure to get his hands (Tintawit Ethiopia Jegnoch Mahber, Kebedech's Archive, 5-6).
This must have had a lasting impact on the later career of Woizero Kebedech. She received the news of the execution of her husband and his brother as soon as they surrendered to the Italians. The news caused much grief to Kebedech, who since then decided to avenge the death of her husband despite repeated Italian warnings and unsuccessful attempts to capture her. As a member of a royal family, she was able to mobilize a large number of fighters within a short time. The army of her deceased husband, her two sons and servants made up the core of her retainers (New Times and Ethiopian News, 1 September 1937).
Woizero Kebedech fought many battles in the districts of Menz, Tegulet, Ifat, Selale and Merhabete. She made frequent contacts and often led joint attacks with prominent Shoan patriotic leaders such as Ras Abebe Aregay, Djazmach Zewde Asfaw and Shaleqa Mesfin Sileshi (Salome 1958, 70; Tintawit Ityopia Jegnoch Mahbar 1983 E.C., 39). Throughout the battles, she wore men's uniform and fought gallantly and commanded ably, at times finding herself in the midst of battles (Salome 1958, 70). Surprisingly enough, she was already pregnant when she took over the command of her husband's army. She delivered in a desert a baby-son whom she named Tariku (to mean historic). She could not stay in bed to be fed well for delivery, and left Shoa for Wellega very soon along with her soldiers. The army had to fight all the way until she led it to southern Gojam, from where she went in exile to Sudan in 1939. Eventually she went via Cairo to Jerusalem. She said in an interview that the presence of her elder son strengthened her determination to avenge the death of his father. She reported that her contingent used to respect her as equally as any male war leader, and their alliance with other liberation fighters always enabled them to score many victories and collect booties and captives (Tintawit Itypia 1983 E.C., 40). She stayed in the Holy Land until the liberation of Ethiopia in 1941 when she returned to her country and led a lonely career caring for orphan children and churches (Ibid).
The third woman with great patriotic achievement was Woizero Shewareged Gedle, whose heroic deeds earned her the epithets "the lion-hearted woman" and "the Ethiopian Joan of Arc" (Ministry of Information 1958 E.C., 49). She was daughter of a commander. She is said to have learned "to fight with a sword and often practiced mock duels with trained and tough soldiers (Ibid).
When the Italo-Ethiopian war broke out, Shewareged was very busy raising funds, collecting first aid medication and mobilizing a league of women patriots who, according to some sources, took an oath to fight the enemy till death (The Ethiopian Herald 3 November 1967; Greenfield 1965, 247). She took the command of these women herself and is said to have fought in Shoa. As a dedicated guerrilla fighter, she sold the land she inherited from her father and used the money to buy clothes, medicine, bullets and rifles for her soldiers and other patriots operating near Addis Ababa. She also gave financial support to the Red Cross. To her credit, she is also reported to have assisted poor villagers deprived of their living by the Italians (Ministry of Information 1958 E.C., 50).
Her extensive patriotic activities brought Woizero Shewareged to frequent court trials by Italian officials. However, she was dauntless and used to declare her unreserved commitment to die for her country's independence. At one time she was brought to the Italian court for having wept on seeing the Italian flag hoisted and was asked why she did that. Her response was surprising even to the fascist officials:
Women of your country who were envious of others' country have given their rings to the bandits (soldiers) who came to invade Ethiopia. Is my weeping alone a crime when I see my country invaded by alien people, my state collapsed, my county's flag replaced by another? [Weeping is not enough] (Ibid).
She was released, but she kept up her struggle. Different sources agree that Woizero Shewareged also rendered multi-dimensional service in underground patriotic activities in the capital from where she used to instil patriotic zeal, organize and send foods, medicines, arms and clothes to the guerrilla fighters. Using her relation with an Ethiopian in the service of the Fascist political office, she gathered valuable information on contemporary political and military affairs. Her intelligence report was systematically sent to renowned war leaders such as Ras Abebe Aregay (Tadesse 1960 E.C., 506).
Following the attempt on the life of Grazziani, she was suspected of treason and captured to be deported with many Ethiopians to the Italian prison near the island of Sardinia where she stayed for two years. She was tortured and flogged in prison to force her to disclose secrets many times. At one instance, she lost her patience and struck an Italian officer in the face and shouted "You are entitled to imprison me, but not to insult me"(Quoted in Tsehay 1980, 81).
Having promised not to engage in subversive activities, she was allowed to return home. However, Shewareged did not fulfil her promise and kept up her patriotic struggle. She joined an underground organization known as Wust Arbegnoch (inner patriots). The main duty of this organization was to gather intelligence information, raise funds, collect ammunition, food, clothes and medication to be sent to the guerrilla fighters. She gave extensive service in this regard (The Ethiopian Herald, 3 November 1967).
In the summer of 1940 Woizero Shewareged was engaged in a grand plan to attack an Italian ammunition depot in Addis Alem, where she had a house. She investigated the condition of the depot and of the Ethiopian prisoners in the same compound. Meanwhile, she corresponded with prominent Showan patriots such as Jagema Kello (later General), Colonel Zewde Tilahun, Captain Tengesse Kello and other officers, asking them to coordinate their efforts to attack the Italian prison and loot the depot at Addis Alem. She also won to her side the Ethiopians responsible for running the prison. In November 1940, an organized attack by her group overrun the prison, set free the prisoners and the looted the depot. In his account of the underground patriotic activities Kegnazmach Tadesse Zewelde wrote of the fact that about 70 enemy soldiers were killed during the attack and that the Ethiopians collected about 2700 rifles and many grenades (1960 E.C., 71; Tabor 1987 E.C., 72-73).
Woizero Shewareged fled to Becho in Shoa, where she met guerrilla fighters and continued her propaganda work at different camps by informing fighters about international developments and the emperor's expected return in the near future. To some notable war leaders, she is reported to have written letters informing them of foreign aid accompanying the emperor, and fortunately for her, the letters of the emperor began to reach the patriots shortly afterwards (Tsehay 1980, 81). She continued her activity until she was captured by the Italians at Kussay in the Gurage region in December 1940. She went there to coordinate her efforts with a famous war leader in Gurage known as Dejazmach Gerresu Duki (Tabor 1987 E.C., 73; The Ethiopian Herald, 3 November 1967).
She was tied to a tree and mercilessly beaten, and later detained at the prison of Akaki near the capital. She was sentenced to death, but fortunately her life was saved by the triumphant entry of the joint Anglo-Ethiopian army into the capital (Tsehay 1980, 80).
Another valiant woman fighter who deserves mention was the anonymous wife of Dejazmach Habte Mikael, who was in charge of the Ethiopian army at Dollo. His army was waiting for the Italians from its fortified position. Meanwhile, his wife climbed to a hilltop and saw the coming of the Italian troops. Having failed to persuade her husband to take the offensive, she went ahead herself wearing his uniform, mounting on a mule and taking with 150 soldiers. She engaged the Italians in a fierce fight that lasted for a short duration. Her army killed many Italians and returned with captured rifles and munitions. This was indeed one of the few instances in which a wife replaced her hesitant husband under crucial circumstances (Ibid).
Further investigation of the achievements of women guerrilla fighters brings us to Woizero Shewanesh Abreha of Lasta. She belonged to an important local family and took leadership position by representing an underage son following the death of her husband during a fight with the Italians in 1937. She married her daughter to Lij Yohannis Iyassu (the great grand son of Emperor Menelik II). This had enabled her to rally a large number of soldiers (Ibid).
Likewise, Woizero Qeleme Worq Tiruneh derived her leading position from her husband but her patriotic activity in Bale and Arsi, commanding a guerrilla band that she eventually took to exile in Kenya, was performed due to the defection of her husband to the Italians. Informants cited examples of many similar experiences of splits within a family as a result of Italian pressure (Tadesse 1960 E.C., 39; Ministry of Information 1958 E.C., 50).
Apart from the above-mentioned patriots, there are also other women who have distinguished themselves with their contributions in the anti-Fascist occupation force. Some of these women include Woizero Belaynesh of Bulga, Woizero Kebedech Dessie of Begemidir, Birhane Gezahgn and Yidenequ Tessema of Bechena in Gojam, Manalebish Debalqe and Ayelech Yosef of Northern Shoa, and Woizero Belaynesh of Goba.
An official document produced by the Ministry of Defence contains the names of about 277 women incorporated in the list of the patriots that earned medals from Emperor Haile Selassie I on 20 January 1945. Obviously the list does not mean that only these women played a pivotal role. An innumerable number of women did not receive medals and of course they could not have done so for various reasons (1937 E.C., 4-6). This list only gives the type of medals they were awarded and their service as fighters, inner patriots and in exile. That their contribution to the war effort was recognized and that they were awarded medals was, however, a development of paramount importance not only in promoting the status of women in war but also in their subsequent social and political emancipation.
Both written and oral sources agree that the major contribution of women to the struggle against the Fascist occupation was in the underground works performed mainly in the towns but also in the countryside as well. Their service to the patriots was by no means inferior to that of the combatant soldiers. The underground work was organized by the central committee of Wust Arbegnoch (Inner patriots). Since they could arouse less suspicion by the enemy, women members of the Wust Arbegnoch have given quite an extensive service, especially in terms of providing the fighters with food, clothing, medicine, arms and munitions, and above all intelligence information (Gerima 1960 E.C. 46; Bahru 1991, 171; Steer 1936, 61).
In general, women collected different types of supplies for the guerrilla fighters. Most of them such as food, clothing, and traditional medicine were produced by the women themselves. Items not available on the market such as rifles, bullets, and grenades were obtained either from the bandas (traitors) or from some Italian soldiers as a business transaction most often effected by women. Not uncommonly, women used to steal the arms of Italian soldiers, including the high-ranking ones, by socialising with them as lovers. Oral informants report that there were very courageous women who killed their Italian lovers to collect their arms. Women also used to collect information about depots of arms and munitions, and organize raids by their menfolk (Gerima 1949 E.C. 41).
The supply of arms to guerrilla fighters was as difficult and risky a venture as its collection. Yet both men and women used to distribute it to fighters in the bushes or smuggle them into towns despite the presence of rigid search posts at the entry points of Addis Ababa. Different devises were used to smuggle firearms: First; it used to be carried on a stretcher as if it was a dead body being taken for burial, accompanied by men's and women's lamentations and crying. Second, women hid bullets in their water pots to smuggle them under the pretext of fetching water from rivers in the outskirts of towns. Thirdly, women used to hide bullets in dried animal dung that was used for fuel (Ibid 174; Meleselign 1947 E.C., 76; Salome 1958, 65).
Women's success in intelligence gathering of those days was due not only to their capacity to rouse less suspicion of the Italians but also to their feminine relation with Italian soldiers, officers and high-ranking officials (Bahru 1991, 172; Sbacci 1985, 171).
Contemporary eyewitness accounts and oral sources attested to the fact that the Italians had great affection for the Ethiopian women and they used to marry or keep concubines. The practice was widespread despite the Fascist government's repeated attempts to stop it. The first reason for this was the fact that from the outset Italian soldiers bound for the Ethiopian campaign were persuaded to believe that victory would reward them with the hands of beautiful Ethiopian ladies. Postcards bearing the latter's picture were issued and attained a considerable sale in Italy on the eve of the war. The popular Italian soldiers' song of the day, Facceta Nera (Little Black Face) must have built up their dream of enjoying the beauty of their colony (Pankhurst 1987, 32). Secondly, more than 90% of the Italian soldiers in Ethiopia had no families, and the shortage of Italian women had in turn led to uncontrolled sexual relations with Ethiopian women in the form of concubinage, rape and prostitution (Sbacci 1985, 171-72).
One outcome of such a relationship was its facilitating intelligence gathering by Ethiopian women. This was clear from the fact that even high-ranking officials working in the political and governorate-general offices were reported to have had Ethiopian concubines (Ibid, 170; Pankurst 1987, 32-33). Though it does not mean all Italians who established such a relation disclosed military secrets, bits and pieces of information collected from some of them were quite valuable to the patriots. Yet, this was not the only devise employed by the Ethiopian women to engage in espionage; they also carried out this task by securing employment as domestic servants of the Italians or by getting access into military camps and residences under the pretext of selling eggs, chicken, milk, butter, etc. Eyewitness accounts also mention some women who did intelligence work by disguising themselves as beggars and mad women. Still others deceived the Italians by supplying false information by pretending to be defectors and declaring their allegiance the Fascist regime. The other category of women engaged in intelligence gathering were those who run drinking houses in towns (Makin 1935, 215).
Another women's underground activity was in the field of propaganda works like instilling patriotism, denouncing cowardice and defection, and disinformation of the Italians. There were quite numerous women engaged in this role both in the towns and countryside. The most notable women propagandists were, however, the above mentioned, i.e., Shewareged Gedle, Kebedech Seyoum and Senedu Gebru as well as Tsehaynesh Abebe of Gondar, Tafesech Difabachew of Menz, Banchiyigezu Kidane of Begemidir, to mention just a few of them. Some of them composed songs for patriots. Tadesse Zewelde, member of the patriots, claimed to have been assigned with Woizero Tafesech to Menz, where they distributed forged letters, bearing imperial seals, and medals to notable guerrilla war leaders and brave soldiers (1960 E.C., 42). Likewise the role of older women and nuns who claimed to have possessed spiritual powers should not be glossed over, for they used to build up the morale of fighters by telling their good dreams or prophesising the downfall of the Fascist regime (Gerima 1949 E.C., 23).
It should also be born in mind that Ethiopian women carried the burden of caring for the older people, the children, the disabled fighters and civilians, besides the more difficult task of undertaking production and trade. By replacing their husbands at the home front they did not only keep up households alive but also ensured continuous supply provisions to the fighters.
To sum up the Ethiopian women of the fascist period did play a magnificent role that that clearly demonstrated that "war is not the monopoly of men."
