Women on the front lines and in the rear of the war

From the very first day of the large-scale aggression undertaken by Azerbaijan along the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27, women volunteered to go to the front line together with their fathers, brothers and husbands to defend the homeland from the enemy.

One of the first victims of the war was 35-year-old Hasmik Arzumanyan. Her name was included in the first list of victims published on the same day around midnight. Junior Sergeant Hasmik Arzumanyan has been in the Armenian Armed Forces since 2014. According to the command staff, during the service she showed himself to be a literate, knowledgeable and disciplined soldier. The servicemen especially highlight her great organizational feature, due to which the junior sergeant takes many initiatives.

During the intensive military operations, on October 8^th, the representative of the RA Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote on his Facebook page: “There were and will be many amazing things in this war. Astonishing heroism and bravery. The heroism of the female servicemen is one of such astonishing and proud ones, about whom we will still tell. ”

A day later, at a regular meeting with journalists at the information center, Hovhannisyan was asked to present examples of women’s feats. It turned out that there is no lack of examples, and there are still many names and heroes to complete the series.

“Today in Artsakh I saw with my own eyes five anti-tank women, super-professional contract soldiers who are just heroics, who use one of the best anti-tank means of our armed forces,” the ministry representative said about the female servicemen, adding that they look great.

Later, the representative of the ministry promised to personally introduce the five anti-tank girls after the victory. “And in general, female heroines are a subject of another pride. “It is a pity that we cannot open the faces of many, especially the beautiful woman who left her six-month-old child at the care of her mother and went to war,” he wrote.

During one of the press conferences, he spoke about a female soldier with a newborn child, who left for the front from the very first day. “We met a woman who left a six-month-old child at her mother’s care and came to war. A professional soldier,” said the representative of the Ministry of Defense.

In the previous days, Hovhannisyan had seen sniper women and artillery women. He has not seen it yet, but he has heard a lot about the female commander of the squad. “I really want to get acquainted with her. “Thus, our daughters, wives and sisters perform combat tasks every day, they become heroes,” he said.

Member of the NA “My Step” faction Armen Khachatryan was also with Hovhannisyan.

“Artsrun Hovhannisyan and I were in a place where our brave fighters were sleeping on the cold ground after performing the difficult combat task excellently. We noticed that there were young girls among them. The commander said that one of them (I will not mention her name yet) had killed five enemies alone a few hours ago, thus ensuring the security of our rear during the fierce battle. And the most touching thing was that our beauty has a six-month-old baby, whom she left at her mother’s care, and she left for the front line. “And how many such lions have been discovered these days, about which we will talk for a long time,” he said.

Today Sose Balasnayan, left for the front line with the veteran volunteers. This girl with a sporty figure, camouflage and long curly hair falling from under her helmet is a resident of Stepanakert, a medalist of other judo, sambo and other world championships. “I cannot be indifferent at such a difficult time, so now I am here with my brothers,” says Sose. She named her Kalashnikov rifle after her father, Grigor. The father also fought in these parts, he is a participant of the first Artsakh war…

In addition to fighting, the women on the front line also sort the first aid sent to Artsakh and deliver it to the soldiers. They bake bread in the ovens and at night, they sew in the workshops to deliver bread and warm clothes and raincoats to the soldiers.

The Minister of Education, Science and Culture of the Artsakh Republic Lusine Gharakhanyan joined the volunteers who sew necessary items for the front line. Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, posting this photo on his Facebook page, noted that the Minister of Education and Science is engaged in a new, no less important job outside of her duties.

“This image of her is a unique embodiment of the behavior  of our nation, shown these days –  everything for the sake of the front and the Homeland. “This is the phenomenon of our people being invincible,” the president wrote and assured that the victory will be ours.

The women of the families who came to Goris from Artsakh weave warm socks from our natural threads. From the first days of the war, a mobilization of women volunteers began under the coordination of Lieutenant Colonel Marine Aghrumyan. Dozens of women register to help those on the front lines.

“I know how to shoot”, “I have practiced martial arts for a long time”, “I do not like weapons, I do not like war, to be honest”, “I can give first aid”, “I am a very good cook”. This is how women who wanted to go to the battlefield presented their abilities in the registration room of the Public Council building at 5 Moskovyan Street, under the Minister of Defense. And those waiting for their turn in the corridor, excited but afraid that they would not be “elected”, told each other why they had come. The most frequently asked question in the corridor was: “Do your family members know that you have come?”

Full text in Armenian