Gender, violence and resistance under Italian rule in Cyrenaica, 1923–1934

Abstract

ABSTRACTItalian rule in Libya was maintained, in large part, through the use of collective violence against the Libyan population in what has been called the bloodiest of colonial wars. Women's participation in this conflict mirrored the gendered division of labour present in pre-colonial society. In both contexts, they played important roles by providing crucial support, for example, feeding and caring for men and children and providing essential military aid to fighters. Women were viewed as a necessary component of the mujahidin, whose bravery was beyond reproach. Women were also not immune to the violence inflicted by the colonial state which did not distinguish between ‘combatants’ and ‘non-combatants’ on the field of battle but, in fact, specifically targeted women for their value to the resistance. To date, scholars have not addressed the pivotal relationship between gender and violence under Italian colonial rule, which shattered existing forms of social organisation through a variety of policies, most dramatically the use of internment camps. Analysing the effects of systemic violence, this article adds to the current scholarship on women and violence during the colonial period in the Middle East and North Africa by drawing on previously published oral history narratives and Italian archival sources to examine the experiences of women involved in the resistance to Italian occupation in Cyrenaica, Eastern Libya, between 1923 and 1934. Ultimately, I argue that women of the region made the rebellion against the Italian occupation possible through their military service by participating as members of extended families and clans.