Editing Eritrean Defence Forces (section)

=== Women ===

While men make up the majority of the Eritrean military women play a major role, with 30% of the EDF’s personnel being women. This can be attributed to the fact that all Eritrean’s regardless of gender are required to participate in mandatory military training at the Sawa Defense Training Centre. The only exception to this is students who pass the matriculation examination, which allows them admittance into university and complete National Service afterwards in a professional capacity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Riggan |first=Jennifer |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1kft8gz |title=The Struggling State: Nationalism, Militarism, and the Education of Eritrea |date=2016 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-4399-1270-6}}</ref> The women in the EDF are trained the same as the men and are given the same roles and responsibilities as the men as well. The historically high female participation in the Eritrean military has been one of the reasons for women's activism within the country.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bernal |first=Victoria |date=2000 |title=Equality to Die For?: Women Guerrilla Fighters and Eritrea's Cultural Revolution |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/24497999 |journal=Political and Legal Anthropology Review |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=61–76 |issn=1081-6976}}</ref> Which has led to an increase in Eritrean women’s representation in the National Assembly, with 30% of the seats being officially reserved for women due to the efforts of the NUEW (National Union of Eritrean Women).<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1983-01-01 |title=Women's movement in Eritrea: An interview |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03056248308703556 |journal=Review of African Political Economy |volume=10 |issue=27-28 |doi=10.1080/03056248308703556 |issn=0305-6244}}</ref> The rise in female activism is due to many former female combatants finding that women’s rights did not change after the war for independence even though gender equality was one of the leading ideals of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zerai |first=Worku |date=1994 |title=Organising Women within a National Liberation Struggle: Case of Eritrea |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4401967 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=29 |issue=44 |pages=WS63–WS68 |issn=0012-9976}}</ref> Even with some of the improvements to female representation within the Eritrean government, women are opposed to mandatory service due to being at risk of sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies, and the risk of HIV/AIDS infection. This fear of sexual assault comes from a history of sexual violence against female conscripts by military commanders in the Eritrean national Service.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kibreab |first=Gaim |date=2017-03-06 |title=Sexual Violence in the Eritrean National Service |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2017.5 |journal=African Studies Review |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=123–143 |doi=10.1017/asr.2017.5 |issn=0002-0206}}</ref> While women in the EDF are treated as equals in many aspects, there are still gender disparities that lead to protest and resentment towards the EDF.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burgess |first=Doris |date=1989-01-01 |title=Women and war: Eritrea |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03056248908703832 |journal=Review of African Political Economy |volume=16 |issue=45-46 |doi=10.1080/03056248908703832 |issn=0305-6244}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Connell |first=Dan |date=1995 |title=Eritrea: starting from scratch |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03056249508704167 |journal=Review of African Political Economy |volume=22 |issue=66 |doi=10.1080/03056249508704167 |issn=0305-6244}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hale |first=Sondra |date=2001 |title=The State of the Women's Movement in Eritrea |url=https://doi.org/10.1353/nas.2006.0006 |journal=Northeast African Studies |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=155–177 |doi=10.1353/nas.2006.0006 |issn=1535-6574}}</ref>