Female soldiers around the world bear arms for their native countries
Helmand Province, Afghanistan
The 21st century has seen a dramatic rise in the number of women who fill the ranks of the world's armed forces. No longer relegated to the home front, women like Chief Warrant Officer Jesse Russell of the U.S., above, now serve in critical combat situations. Russell flies a Black Hawk helicopter as part of a medical-evacuation unit.Lynsey Addario / VII Network
Pyongyang, North Korea
Female North Korean soldiers attend an exhibition of Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia flowers.Christopher Morris / VII
Mushake, Congo
A female soldier carries her infant on her back.Alissa Everett / Reuters
Pokhara, Nepal
A female Maoist soldier sits in one of the group's camps. Maoist fighters have lived in U.N.-monitored camps since a 2006 peace deal ended a decade of civil war.Giulio Di Sturco / VII Mentor
Jacksonville, Fla.
National Guard Sergeant Susan Sonheim, above, became the first woman in the history of the Guard to receive a Purple Heart. She was awarded the medal for injuries she received while serving in Iraq.Tom Sperduto / Aurora Photos
Pyongyang, North Korea
Female North Korean soldiers march during a military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the communist nation's ruling Workers' Party.Vincent Yu / AP
Kabul, Afghanistan
Newly trained female officers of the Afghan National Army sit at their graduation ceremony at the army's training center.Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP
Border of the Gaza Strip
An Israeli soldier sits at the turret of her armored personnel carrier as a column of tanks heads into the Gaza Strip for a raid at dawn.Warrick Page / Getty Images
Sistani, Afghanistan
U.S. Marine Captain Emily Naslund, commander of a Female Engagement Team (FET), aims her weapon after shots were fired in the village of Sistani. Though the overall mission of FETs is to engage Afghan women, the female Marines are increasingly exposed to small-arms fire and IED attacks while on their patrols to local villages.Lynsey Addario / VII Network
Zhitomir, Ukraine
Female Ukrainian paratroopers take part in a drill.SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP / Getty Images
Katukurunda, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's first batch of female Special Task Force commandos march during a parade. New recruits will be deployed in the vast stretches of land that were wrested from the rebel Tamil Tigers after nearly four decades of fighting.Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP / Getty Images
Beijing, China
A female soldier in the People's Liberation Army helps another soldier put on lipstick before a military party.Jason Lee / Reuters
