Armenian Women Will Now Master Weapons and Equally Defend Themselves, Their Children, and Their Homeland: Anna Hakobyan

Anna Hakobyan, the wife of the Prime Minister of Armenia, made the following post on her Facebook page: “Two years ago, when I initiated the Women for Peace campaign, I faced sharp criticism from some women. They said, ‘You are begging for peace. We are not a nation that begs for peace; we are a fighting and struggling nation. Armenian women are strong; if necessary, they will take up arms themselves.’

They accused me of weakness while stubbornly ignoring my other statement: that in the event of war, I am prepared to take up arms myself and defend our homeland.

The message of the Women for Peace campaign was clear—we, as women and mothers, must compel male political decision-makers to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict solely at the negotiation table, and under no circumstances should they attempt the path of war again. We must not jeopardize the lives of our 18-20-year-old children or encourage them to become heroes who sacrifice themselves, thereby increasing the number of black-clad mourning mothers in the thousands.

I directed my appeal to Azerbaijani women and mothers as well, for which I again faced criticism. Now, as war is underway, and our 18-20-year-old soldiers, volunteers, officers, and contract soldiers are giving their lives to defend the homeland, while the enemy seeks a new ‘1915,’ our army is simultaneously fighting against armed forces from several states, mercenaries, and terrorists. I will take up arms and form a unit of women to send a message to the world that Armenian women will stand on equal footing with men in the battlefield, but will not concede any part of our homeland, and will not allow a repetition of ‘1915.’

And what? Those same women are still dissatisfied. They now say that Armenian women have no place in the battlefield.

Dear ladies, please make up your minds. If you weren’t prepared for war, you should have joined the peace campaign rather than stone its efforts. If that campaign was not to your liking, or you were indifferent to it, it means you were ready for war. If you were ready, then now is the time to prove that Armenian women are no longer the fragile beings who can be trampled in front of their children, left to starve in the deserts, crucified, or humiliated.

From now on, Armenian women will master weapons and will equally defend themselves, their children, and their homeland alongside Armenian men. We have neither our homeland nor dignity to concede to the enemy. We owe our immortal heroic children a victorious and powerful homeland, and this is every one of our duty.”