Sometimes, Seda says, she imagines herself at the frontline
– crouching in the trenches, focusing her gun across the border – and fighting,
if necessary: “I’m prepared to die for my country”, she says quietly, almost
shyly. The girl with a ready smile is
one of a handful of 14 and 15 year-old girls who were accepted into the military
high school in Stepanakert – a rare occurrence in a region where women are
mostly still expected to stay home and raise children.
Stepanakert is the capital of Bergkarabach, a
self-proclaimed republic which declared its independence from Azerbaijan in the
1990s. In the neighbouring country of Armenia, there are already twenty young
women studying at the military academy of Jerewan. This is where the officers
for Armenia’s and Bergkarabach’s armies are being trained. The two armies share
resources and soldiers.
Government officials say that the admittance of women into
the military was a long overdue step towards making the military more
inclusive. Demographics, however, also played a role in the decision: ever more
Armenians are leaving their country in search of better economic opportunities,
and couples increasingly choose to have fewer children.
Yet there are some at the Yerevan Military Academy who do
not support this new development. “Women should not be in the army, it’s not
their place”, one of the physical instructors believes. “They are just not like
men.”
The female cadets shrug off such objections. They are sure
that one day they will serve on the frontline between Armenia and Azerbaijan
just like their male peers. Seda smiles wryly. She says she would not be afraid
of shooting to kill the enemy – adding, “I shoot better than many of the boys.”
She grins. Naomi Conrad
Lena Mucha
Freelance photographer Lena Mucha (born 1983) lives in
Berlin. She studied Political Sciences and Social Anthropology in Cologne,
completing her masters degree in 2011. In 2016 she received a grant for Magnum
workshops with Patrick Zachmann and David Alan Harvey. Her work has been
featured in publications such as Burn Magazine, Vice Columbia, Huffington Post,
Stern and Lensculture.
www.lenamucha.com
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