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The Invisible War On Women Analysis

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The War On Women In Sand Queen, author Helen Benedict beautifully weaves a complex story about shared female experiences within conflicting sides of the Iraq War. Based on her widely acclaimed documentary and book, The Invisible War and The Lonely Soldier, Helen Benedict in Sand Queen is able to expose the mistreatment and assault of women during wartime. Throughout the book, readers are able to wrestle with the reality of war from the differing psyche of a U.S. soldier named Kate and an Iraqi college student named Naema. By having two female characters possess divergent perspectives because of where they live and work, some similar issues of sexism unfold. The author is able to personify two conflicting concepts: militarism and transnational …show more content…

To the civilians of Iraq, Kate embodies the concept of militarism which is the belief that military presence or responses are an acceptable solution to conflict; war is an essential evil which is needed to propel ideology and stop threats but results in mayhem for civilians. When the civilians see Kate, the Iraqi people see a monster who murders and imprisons the innocent. When the crowd realizes Kate is a woman, she faces more harassment than male soldiers, and the civilians become enraged. As Naema notes in the moment, “As soon as the people around me also see this soldier is only a girl, and out here all alone with us, they grow bold.’You have killed our sons!’ they shout, closing in around her. ‘You’re lying to us, bitch”(25 Benedict)! Because she is a woman soldier, Kate must endure ostracization from civilians and fellow soldiers who treat her like a pariah. But, Kate still views the extrapolation of Iraqi citizens as a necessary but cruel act to keep the peace, although she and fellow women do not benefit from the peace since their struggles with their male counterparts never cease. Whereas, Naema embodies transnational critique of militarism which is the idea that women globally and across culture have the same struggles especially in militaristic times. While Kate may at first sight represent militarism, she deals with the negative effects of U.S. militarism on women’s safety and rights. Therefore, Kate and Naema have transnational gender struggles from different

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