Women Brush Off the Hardships of Rebel Life

Women Brush Off the Hardships of Rebel Life
By DAVID ROHDE

New York Times
April 29, 2003

Three weeks ago, Mahnaz Bazazi was an ally of Saddam Hussein, a member of a terrorist group and an enemy of the United States. That is why an allied bomb hit the military base where she works. Three women were killed in the attack and Ms. Bazazi lost both her legs.

Now, however, the organization Ms. Bazazi belongs to, the People's Mujahedeen, an Iranian guerrilla group working for the overthrow of the Islamic government in Iran, has become the first terrorist group to sign a cease-fire with American forces.

''We never had any animosity toward the United States,'' Ms. Bazazi, a senior commander of the group, said from her hospital bed. ''We never fired at the American soldiers.''

The graveyard on the group's sprawling base here, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, is a testament to the success of recent Iranian efforts to infiltrate Iraq. Officials here said pro-Iranian fighters who crossed into Iraq had killed at least 20 members of the group in the last two and a half weeks.

The group's cadres are an odd mix of graying revolutionaries and young female volunteers who may have been born in Iran, but did not grow up there. Many of the young women said they had never visited Iran as adults and were risking their lives for a place they could barely remember. Some are the children of revolutionaries.

Mahnaz Afshar, 21, was in high school in Florida three years ago. Her eyes brightened at the memory. She came here, she said, because she felt a need to ''take responsibility'' and try to work for a secular government in Iran.

Now she is part of an all-female tank unit that officials showed off to journalists today. A quarter of the group's fighters are women.

Today they gathered in a semicircle, wearing tan uniforms, black combat boots and olive head scarves.

Sahar Gholamali said she left Toronto two years ago at 17. She said Iranian officials had hanged her father when he refused to give them information.

She herself was born in a jail cell. ''I was born in prison,'' she said. ''It's helped my motives because I knew many people were like me.''

Fazeh Saadat, who spent seven years in Denmark with foster parents, said she had always thought she was not supposed to lead a normal life while there were people her age suffering in Iran.

''They said I shouldn't get killed, but that's what parents say.'' Ms. Saadat said her biological parents were both members of the group.

''I don't know what base they are on,'' she said, but added that it was not a problem. ''If I miss them or anything I just go to tell my commander and I go see them.''

The hospital ward where Ms. Bazazi was staying had a half dozen other wounded women. Two others had lost a leg in allied bomb attacks. Another six were wounded in ambushes by pro-Iranian fighters.

Ms. Bazazi said she had an adult daughter in Germany whom she had not seen for years; but she quickly changed the subject.

''Let me tell you, legs are not that important to us,'' she said. ''What is more important to me is to see my homeland free of mullahs.''