In 2023, a system of mandatory military service for women on a voluntary basis was initiated. Today, it has already been implemented. Numerous women serve in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.
It should be noted that even before the implementation of this system, many women served in the Armed Forces. One of these women is Anahit Sndeyan. A professional nurse, she has dreamed of serving since 2016. She has been serving since 2019.
Anahit says she was weak-hearted and would faint when seeing severely ill patients. This weak-hearted Anahit went through the crucible of war in 2020, retrieving the wounded and fallen from the battlefield.
“I love the uniform very much. I appear delicate on the outside, but I am a very strong person. Society looks at women in uniform in a particular way. Many people didn’t let their sons go to the battlefield, but many women were with me. One shouldn’t look strangely at female soldiers because everyone does very important work in the army. Not everyone can serve; not everyone is fortunate enough. I encourage girls to join the army. Service is a very good thing; you become hardened in the army. A very correct decision has been made that women should serve. I am inclined to the idea that from the age of 18, all women should go to mandatory service. Women are very important in the army,” Anahit stated in conversation with Iravaban.net.
The soldier has saved numerous lives. She says she hasn’t counted how many people have survived thanks to her, but she receives many calls, with parents of the soldiers expressing gratitude that their sons are alive.
“They called to say that one of your boys was wounded and you need to go get him. At that moment, I went out with my driver, and at that moment, the ‘cassette’ [cluster munition] hit. I didn’t manage to reach the wounded. I could feel how the fragments were entering my body. I knew that if it strikes once, it strikes a second time. I saw a small wall, tried to hide, realized I couldn’t, understood that the wound was in my legs. I turned and said, ‘Whatever happens, happens,’ covered my face, received a second hit, but I was alive. One of our boys pulled me out. I received first aid in Stepanakert,” Anahit recounts.
Despite everything she has been through, she notes that her son must definitely serve, and says she would want her daughter to serve as well.
The war has not frightened Anahit; it has hardened her. Today, she continues her service.
Details in the video.
