Men aren’t the only ones lighting up their enemies on the battlefield. These 6 elite military units are staffed entirely by women.
1. Kurdish Women’s Defense Units
The Kurdish YPJ is a female militia that began in 2012 as part of the Kurdish resistance to ISIS and the al-Nusra Front. They’ve fought in numerous battles and have a psychological impact on the men they fight because ISIS fighters believe they can’t go to heaven if killed by a woman.
2. Russia’s female Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz has allowed female members for some time, and women have been incorporated into Spetsnav officer training in recent years. While most female Spetsnaz members are placed into co-ed units, some have been used in female detachments for foreign intelligence gathering and as “beacons” to lead in assaulting troops during a foreign raid or invasion.
3. Chinese Special Forces
China has a single female special forces unit. Based in Hong Kong, the unit boasts 50 highly-trained combatants.
4. Russian female airborne battalion
These women train at the Russian airborne academy to become officers in charge of paratroopers. They learn how to conduct an airborne insertion, how best to maneuver as a unit on the battlefield, and how to shoot their enemies center mass.
5. Swedish Women’s Voluntary Defence Service
Commonly called the Lotta Corps, these women are part of the national defense plan for Sweden should it be invaded. They are trained in basic military tactics and strategy, but are a reserve force. Like the U.S. Army Reserves, their primary jobs are combat support or combat service support rather than frontline combat.
6. Libyan “Revolutionary Nuns”
Though it was disbanded following the Libyan Civil War, this elite cadre of bodyguards were key to dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s personal security. They were highly trained in firearms and martial arts. In an attack in 1998, one woman was killed after leaping onto Gaddafi while he was being shot at by Libyan rebels.