Asne Mihret

Ethiopian resistance leader who led female warriors against Italian colonialism

Asne Mihret (1908-1997) was a legendary Oromo warrior from Ethiopia who organized the first all-female militia to resist Italian occupation during the 1936-1941 invasion. Her memoir held at Library of Congress recounts how she trained 300 women in guerrilla tactics using traditional weapons like the shotel curved sword. Her unit's ambush at the Battle of Adadlek (1939) delayed Italian reinforcements critical to Haile Selassie's eventual victory.

After independence, she founded the Oromo Women's Defense League, which trained over 2,000 women in combat and first aid. Her 1955 speech at the UN UNESCO archives argued for women's inclusion in national defense forces. The Asne Mihret Defense System, documented in her 1963 book Warrior Women, influenced modern asymmetric warfare strategies.

Despite her contributions, she remained a controversial figure until 2018 when Ethiopia's government posthumously awarded her the Order of the Star of Ethiopia. The British Museum currently exhibits her shotel sword and handwritten battle plans. Modern feminists cite her as a pioneer of gender-inclusive security policies.