Chronicles of Gaddafi’s elite female guard: A Retrospective

Team Udayavani, Jan 16, 2024, 11:04 AM IST

The Revolutionary Nuns, also known in Europe as Amazons and in North Africa as Haris al-Has, were a group of female bodyguards dedicated to the protection of Muammar Gaddafi, the former leader of Libya. Their primary duty was to safeguard him under any circumstances.

In the early 1980s, Muammar Gaddafi, who was the leader of Libya at the time, established a group of bodyguards comprised entirely of women. Before this, Gaddafi had been protected by the East German Secret Services, and many of his bodyguards hailed from countries such as Bulgaria, Germany, and Poland.

When Gaddafi went on trips, he always took at least 15 of his female bodyguards, known as Revolutionary Nuns, with him. They were responsible for either protecting him or doing housework. However, when things got really bad in Libya and Gaddafi started to worry about losing his power, he stopped using the Revolutionary Nuns. After that, most of them vanished and hid themselves away.

While Gaddafi was in charge, about 400 women served as Revolutionary Nuns. Joseph Stanik, a former US naval officer, mentioned that Gaddafi preferred female bodyguards. He believed that it would be harder for men to attack them and that women were less likely to turn against their leader.However, several people who knew him well mentioned that the Colonel simply enjoyed the company of young women.

In 1975, Gaddafi wrote a short book called the Green Book, which outlined his political ideas. While he was in power, his book was used in schools for teaching, and his quotes were displayed everywhere in Libya.
In one part of his book, Gaddafi talked about women and their place in society. He said that men and women are equal when they are born, but they are naturally different. Because of these differences, they should have specific roles in daily life. Gaddafi also mentioned that women can work, but their jobs shouldn’t harm their beauty and should be fitting for women, not for men. This means he believed women should do certain types of work that are appropriate for them, considering their physical and natural differences from men.

The leader of Libya, despite what he said in the Green Book, believed strongly that women should be taught how to fight. He thought this would prevent them from being easily defeated by enemies. He also saw having women as bodyguards as a way to help women gain more freedom.While Gaddafi was in charge in Libya, women could go to schools and universities. They were also allowed to work as police officers, doctors, nurses, or engineers.

Before Gaddafi, when King Idris was the ruler, only about 15% of girls went to primary school. After Gaddafi became the leader in 1969, he made education mandatory up to the age of nine. This led to the highest rate of women who could read and write in that area. By 1990, 48% of girls were going to primary school and in 1996, 43% were attending secondary school.When he passed away in 2011, over 50% of the students in universities were women.

The primary job of the Revolutionary Guard was to guard Gaddafi all day and night. They also had to do things like amuse him, read to him from the Green Book, and keep his home clean.Muammar Gaddafi personally picked all the young women for the Revolutionary Nuns. They were required to be about 20 years old, single, attractive, and virgins. They also had to promise to remain chaste before they began their formal training.”Chaste” means abstaining from all sexual activity. It’s often used in the context of someone who refrains from sexual relations for moral or religious reasons.

The training for the Revolutionary Nuns involved learning martial arts and a thorough firearms education. They mainly trained at the Women’s Police Academy in Tripoli. Once chosen, they took an oath to protect him at any cost, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives.The Revolutionary Nuns dressed in military uniforms, which included black high heels, a red belt, and a red beret. They were also allowed to wear jewelry, red lipstick, and to paint their nails.

The Revolutionary Nuns made their first appearance on the international stage in 1981 in Syria. At that time, Gaddafi was there to meet Hafiz al-Asad, who was the President of Syria.

In 1998, Gaddafi’s convoy was attacked by extremists in Derna, Libya. A bodyguard from the group bravely shielded the Libyan leader, resulting in her fatal injury, while seven others were injured in the effort to protect Gaddafi.The female bodyguard who sacrificed her life to protect him was Aisha, who at that time was the leading bodyguard among the Revolutionary Nuns.

In November 2006, Gaddafi landed at Abuja Airport in Nigeria with about 200 heavily armed bodyguards. When they arrived, the airport security didn’t want to let them in with weapons, which made Gaddafi very angry. There was a short clash between his bodyguards and the security guards. Gaddafi was so upset that he was ready to walk to the capital city. The problem was only solved when Olusegun Obasanjo, the President of Nigeria at that time, stepped in.

In June 2009, when Gaddafi visited Italy, he brought about 300 bodyguards with him. While he was there, he stayed in a huge Bedouin tent set up in a park in the middle of Rome.A Bedouin tent refers to a large, traditional tent used by the Bedouin people, who are nomadic tribes from the desert regions of the Arab world. These tents are known for their spaciousness and are often made of heavy cloth, designed to withstand desert conditions like sand and heat. They are a significant part of Bedouin culture, symbolizing hospitality and a nomadic lifestyle.

Many women in the Revolutionary Guards were left by their husbands and rejected by their families.In 2001, Dr. Seham Sergewa, a psychologist from Libya, began to study how the Revolutionary Guards were chosen. Only eight women came forward to talk because they were scared of speaking out. They feared being attacked by extremists and sometimes even their own family members.

While some women called Gaddafi a liberator of women, after he died, several women accused the former Libyan leader of rape and abuse.Many women claimed that they were either coerced into joining the unit or were pressured to provide sexual favors to be chosen. They reported that Gaddafi and some individuals close to him in his leadership circle sexually assaulted them.

By Girish Linganna

( The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach out to him at: [email protected])

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