The overlooked roles of women in the patriotic resistance movement in Bure Damot, 1936–1941

Abstract

Due to a strong patriotic resistance movement, the Italian conquest of Ethiopia and their colonizing ambitions were hindered by the women at the time. But academicians did not write their roles adequately. For this reason, it is crucial to emphasize that this study closes the historiographical vacuum on the history of women in the provinces. From this point on, the study made an effort to look into the invaluable contributions made by women to Bure Damot’s five-year patriotic resistance movement (1936–1941). As direct participants and Yewust arbegna (inner patriots), the notable women patriots ultimately contributed to Ethiopia’s independence in 1941. Since then, the roles of women have become increasingly valuable since they are portrayed in more ways than men are. In the resistance movement women played a crucial role by cooking food, offering logistical support, serving as active inner patriots, and other ways, while men actively participated in the movement against the enemy. Both published and unpublished historical materials were used in the study of the heroine’s roles as combatant and non-combatant patriots. Crucial sources included elderly people with rudimentary knowledge of the resistance effort in the study area and informants who were patriots. In order to document the untold history of women in the patriotic resistance movement in Bure Damot, 1936–1941, sources were gathered and then analyzed.

Keywords

• Women
• Bure Damot
• fascists
• patriotic resistance movement
• Yewust Arbegna
• African History