Women at War
“Courage has no gender...”
4 x 48 minute programmes
Made in association with UK History and the
Imperial War Museum
It is usually men who start wars. Despots, tyrants,
politicians, generals – whoever is at the root of a conflict is
probably male. And for centuries, men have been sent to fight and die
on battlefields all over the world, leaving their womenfolk at home to
cope as best they can.
But women have not been content to sit and wait
while men decide their fate.
They have taken up arms, faced mortal peril behind
enemy lines, worked in the factories and fields, tended the sick and
wounded and laid their lives on the line in support of their armies and
their beliefs. History shows us that the fate of nations could have
been very different indeed without the unswerving devotion of the women
of the world.
Many have gone on to become national heroines. The
stories of others that played crucial roles in warfare, though no less
compelling, are perhaps not so well known.
Why does society cling to the idea that women
should not fight in the front line when they have equality with men in
so many other areas? Have they failed to prove their worth or are men
simply defending their traditional role in conflict - the last bastion
of machismo?
In this series we trace the history of Women at
War, following their progress from tribal warriors in the front line
and nurses at the front to agents and spies behind the lines, as well
as their contribution to the image of war through painting, poetry,
photography and writing.
From Boudicca to Private Jessica, the story of
Women at War.
Titles in the series
1. The Fighters
“Fighters” tells the story of those
women who have experienced battle at first hand. Dressed as women - and
often as men - they have fought in the wars that have shaped our world,
from the English and American Civil Wars to the Napoleonic Wars and two
World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East. Some are celebrated,
some unsung – but all their sacrifices have made them worthy
heroines.
2. Spies and Angels
The ultimately tragic spy, Mata Hari, was the
archetypal “femme fatale”, and the nun-like Florence
Nightingale, the selfless field nurse. Or were they? In
Spies and Angels we look at both women - but go beyond these iconic
figures to such formidable pioneers as medic Mabel Stobart, nurse Edith
Cavell (who was executed in The Second World War for espionage) and
Violette Szabo (whose story was told in the film “Carve Her Name
with Pride”). We talk to women who served in the SOE and as
medics in Saigon.
3. The Home Front
Since the horrors of tribal assault and massacre,
women have carved out an important wartime role, often having to fight
their own male establishment as well as the enemy to do so. More
recently they have led protests against war. How successful have
women been in destroying the “no job for a woman” labels
and how successful have they been in holding on to these roles when the
guns fall silent?
4. Words and Pictures
Kate Adie looks at how women have been used as
propaganda tools in war and examines their broader contribution to the
cultural images of armed conflict through painting, poetry, photography
and writing. What images do women add to the chronicles of war? What do
they go through to bring us their Words and Pictures?
© Eagle Media Productions 2004
