How were Maummar Gaddafi's Women Guards Selected and Trained

 Maummar Gaddafi is no more( Let his soul rest in peace)  , but  he did something that will be remembered for long. This is his Women platoon of security guards often dubbed as the Amazon brigade. Gaddafi started this women brigade in the eighties. It is now known that there was intense competition to be the recruited as body guards in Gaddafi’s brigade. The following procedure was adopted.

a)  Women and girls from Libya who were unmarried were asked to join the Gaddafi brigade. One of the requirements was that a girl was to be a virgin. The selection procedure culminated with an interview by Gaddafi himself, who had the final say in the appointment.

b) After selection the women entered the Women Military training Academy at Tripoli. Here they were toughened with regular exercises and drills. The curriculum also included unarmed combat training.Candidates for the Amazonian Guard underwent extensive firearms and martial arts training. They practiced at the range and handled rifles and sten guns with ease. Gaddafi has gone on record and stated that women must learn unarmed combat to defend themselves. In that respect he was a supporter of womens lib.

c) At the academy the women soldiers had to take a special oath of loyalty to Gaddafi as well as a  a vow of chastity., Though this was perhaps not applicable to their relations with Gaddafi.

The women body guards  received   good wages and could lead a life of some comfort. In addition they had special privileges  regarding western style dresses and make up and lipstick. They were also kitted with special high heels and had western hair styles. They had regular visits to the beauty clinics. All this was anathema to hard line Muslim clerics and Al Qaeda, but Gaddafi pressed on with his schemes.  But like an Arabian nights tale the women body guards have evaporated with the demise of Gaddafi.  Some were captured, raped and shot and other just ran away.

The end of the women body guards was sad , perhaps inevitable. But what must be seen that he empowered women and nations can take a leaf out of teh book of Libya and Gaddafi. There is no harm in examining the motivation and training of the women guards of Gaddafi.   The procedures that are followed  can be applied in India and other countries as well. So there is always  something positive  out of a negative situation