Amazons of the Huk rebellion

by Vina A. Lanzona

Labeled "Amazons" by the national press, women played a central role in the Huk rebellion, one of the most significant peasant-based revolution in modern Philippine history. As spies, organizers, nurses, couriers, soldiers, Japanese occupation and, even military commanders, women worked closely with men to resist the Japanese occupation and, after WWII, to challenge the new Philippine republic ,. But in the midst of the uncertainty and violence of rebellion, these women also pursued personal lives, falling in love, becoming pregnant, and raising families, often with their male comrades-in-arms. Drawing on interviews with over one hundred veterans of the movement, Vina A. Lanzona explores the Huk rebellion through individual and collective experiences of its female participants. Rescuing Huk women from their previous obscurity, she demonstrates how their [presence raised complex questions of gender, family, and sexuality, and ultimately shaped the nature of the revolutionary struggle. -