Whose war is it anyway?

There’s a theory that when women get depressed, they go shopping. Men invade another country. Retail therapy may have well cured some war-prone women leaders in the nick of time.

But since the world has had way more male heads of state than female, we mostly hear of men in power declaring war. Names such as Nazi Germany’s Hitler, and lately, leaders like Putin and Donald Trump loom large, when we think of war-driven leadership. Each embodies a certain archetype: the aggressive strongman. Hitler’s was ideology combined with a ruthless urge to wipe out an entire race of humans, along with world domination. Putin’s is territorial assertion: a cold resolve to acquire and control his rather vast neighbourhood. Both arise from an ego that declares — “hey world! Look how powerful I am.” And now we have US President Trump; almost comic in his rage, America’s “emperor without clothes” (like his naked statue that came up in Phoenix, Arizona some time back). A President, whose finger moves from tweeting war-rhetoric to hitting the war button with shocking, impulsive speed.

War often seems like a testosterone-fuelled game of male power. But remember Joan of Arc (just 17!) and Jhansi ki Rani, fearlessly charging on their horses into battlefields — raising bloodstained swords in triumph. Indian history is full of ambitious warrior queens: 13th-century Razia Sultana of Delhi, 16th-century Abbakka Rani Chowta and, Kittur Rani Chennamma of today’s Karnataka, all of whom have defied stereotyping of women as incapable of war.

‘Iron Ladies’ of 20th century

Three strong women leaders of modern times, with nicknames like ‘Iron Lady’, have disproved gender expectations, declaring war when leadership demanded it. Golda Meir dismissed asides like “the best man in the government to run Israel” to lead her country against Arab nations, at the Yom Kippur war (‘73). Margaret Thatcher’s decisive response to fight Argentina’s invasion of Falkland Islands (‘82), resulted in a swift victory for Britain, demolishing her then image of a fragile female head. Former prime minister Indira Gandhi was once labelled a ‘goongi gudiya’ (dumb doll) by political rivals, underestimating her acumen. Till the victorious war against Pakistan in 1971, and the creation of Bangladesh — when her nickname changed to ‘Durga’, the goddess who vanquishes enemies!

Women and invisible wars

Female intuition and courage have helped many formidable women at the helm of a nation win. But then, women leaders don’t need a political crisis to prove their battle-readiness. They’ve been in continuous combat training since adolescence.

Women have fought multiple invisible wars: against assumptions that ambition is unbecoming, against roles they shouldn’t take, against unfair pay gaps at work, against unfair division of housework, against unfair judgement on how they should talk, walk, dress, and behave.

So yes, when a woman makes a tough call to go to war on the world stage, it may look extraordinary. But in fact, she’s simply doing to scale what millions of women have been doing all along; navigating obstacles, advancing inch by inch, gaining small victories, and when the occasion demands, going on the offensive. And winning!

(He Said/She Said is a monthly column on gender issues — funny side up. Reach the author at [e-mail].)