Teenage girls are grabbing guns and joining the outlawed New People's Army in the Philippines. Here, a rare glimpse at their secret lives.
In the lawless region of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, there are few opportunities for uneducated country girls — unless they pick up an Uzi submachine gun and join the New People's Army. Since 1969, the NPA, the armed wing of the country's outlawed Communist Party, has waged a war against the government, fighting for a Maoist state; as many as 40,000 Filipinos have died in the process.
The local media — witnesses to the sporadic outbreaks of NPA violence over the years — have dubbed the group's female fighters "Amazonas," after the legendary women warriors of ancient Greece. Indeed, girls as young as 16 have joined the 7400-strong NPA, which the U.S. and the EU classify as a terrorist group.
"I want all my sisters to join," says a rebel named Giegie, 22. "It's for the best. There's no life for them outside the NPA." Giegie met her fiancé, Dods, in the army. It took almost a year before Communist officials granted them permission to date. Every aspect of NPA life is regulated, including romance; premarital sex is forbidden.
Giegie's platoon has a motley armory — rifles and grenade launchers mostly captured from police. She and her fellow fighters make their camps in the jungle, where flickering oil lamps give them a ghostly appearance.
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
-
Bitten Lips Took Center Stage at Dior Fall 2024 Show
Models at the Dior Fall 2024 show paired bitten lips with bare skin, a beauty trend that will take precedence this season.
By Deena Campbell Published
-
30 Spring Items That Solve My Expensive-Taste-on-a-Humble-Budget Dilemma
See every under-$300 spring item on my wish list.
By Natalie Gray Herder Published
-
Your Makeup Won't Budge With These Setting Sprays
Prepare for 12-hour wear.
By Sophia Vilensky Published
-
I Served My Country...and Wound Up Living in My Car
After a downward spiral into homelessness and drug addiction, here's how I dug myself out. Read about more reversals of fortune:I Tackled a Powerful Family LegacyI Had an Unthinkable Disease...and Made Myself Better
By Jennifer crane Published
-
Life as an American Female Soldier
Hair falling out, periods on hold, and peeing in a cup: for female soldiers, life on the front lines involves stuff men never have to think about.
By Tara McKelvey Published