By Rebecca Huval

Female soldiers are no strangers to the frontlines, but the U.S. Army has just made it legal for them to serve in combat positions. Last month, the Pentagon repealed a 1994 law that barred women from infantry, armor, and artillery roles. But for decades, female soldiers have worked in the line of fire as medics, military photographers, and intelligence officers attached to combat troops. They have lost limbs and more than 100 have died in Iraq.

Two recent ITVS-funded documentaries show the harsh realities of female soldiers: Lioness and 2013 Oscar-nominee The Invisible War. Lioness spotlights women on the frontlines through a fearless team of female soldiers in Iraq — Team Lioness. During patrols, they calmed women and children in distress and ensured the cultural appropriateness of soldiers’ body searches.

In response to the lifting of the ban, Lioness directors Daria Sommers and Meg McLagan wrote via email: “It’s about time. Bringing policy in line with the reality of what servicewomen have been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan is key to achieving gender equity in the military…This in turn paves the way for women to crack the brass ceiling. Who knows? At some future date, when the Joint Chiefs sit down to advise the White House, one of them could be a woman.”

The Invisible War shows a different kind of fallout female soldiers have endured: rape in the military. More than 20 percent of female veterans have been sexually assaulted, according to the documentary. The film has already changed national policy. After watching The Invisible War, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta transferred the power to prosecute sexual assault from the level of unit commander to colonel. Continue reading →