Women's contributions are forgotten when history is written. I thought about this while traveling in Viet Nam and taking in some of the war museums (whether you call it the Viet Nam war or the American war depends on your perspective, I learned).
While there, I watched a propaganda film produced by the Viet Cong in 1967 to encourage people to support their cause and fight the Americans. In the film, women were portrayed as bravely sabotaging the enemy by day while happily working the fields at night. It put new meaning to the phrase "a woman's work is never done."
Apparently the films did its job, as women signed up in droves and were highly effective Viet Cong guerrilla fighters. Unfortunately, after being an integral part of war, they weren't decorated at its conclusion and the government posts in the new communist administration went almost exclusively to the men.
Stieg Larrsen, author of the wildly successful "Millennium" trilogy, expresses the same sentiment in the preface of "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest." He says some six hundred women fought in the American civil war dressed up as men and wonders why this significant piece of history has been overlooked.
"Historians have often struggled to deal with women who do not respect gender distinctions, and no where is that distinction more sharply drawn than in the question of armed combat," he says.
When war is waged, women have not been shy to play their part as common soldiers alongside men. During the conflict, the "powers that be" welcome their help but are reluctant to acknowledge their contribution once success is reached.
It's not a surprise that women support the cause as feminine energy is strongly motivated by its value system. It's also not a surprise that women don't seek individual recognition, as feminine energy is dedicated to the collective.
There is an opportunity here to tell our stories and recognize our significance - especially those of our gender who act outside of accepted norms. In doing so, each of us can ensure that women's contributions are not forgotten. Shall we start?
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January 20, 2011
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