Crying women, men with guns: Reports from war zones show the same stereotypes. But women in wars are much more than just victims. Our author wishes that this will finally be seen.
The village of Samashki in Chechnya has just been attacked by Russian helicopters and heavy artillery, a short, hard blow to forcefully reassure unruly residents who runs the Caucasus. They must have housed resistance fighters. My camera team and I see the action from a kilometer away, we drive there to interview people, to document death and destruction. It’s so strange: they’re angry, they’re crying, both men and women. But the biggest outrage is the monstrosity that a girl from the village had previously been kidnapped and probably raped. “Our Jasmine, beautiful, young, white dress with flowers.” The desecration dishonours the village, breaks pride, breaks the will to resist, that’s probably the intention.