'Gaddafi Girls', crucial part of Libyan army or sex slaves?

Tripoli, Sep 4: Why do dictator Muammar Gaddafi keep female bodyguards? One of his former female guard claimed that the Libyan leader used to keep female guards to project to the world that women in his country had “equal rights to their male counterparts."

The Express Tribune reports Aisha Abed El Salaam Ali, holds the rank of lieutenant-colonel, was one of the highest ranking female officers in the Libyan army and also a member of the Revolutionary Guard.

Ali, who is unmarried and hails from the town of Traghan in south Libya, joined Qaddafi"s army in 1984, and was captured by rebels last week following a heavy fighting in Zawiya, 50 kilometres southwest of Tripoli.

Ali said,“There were three permanent bodyguards. They would travel with Gaddafi to many destinations. But on every foreign trip, Ali explains, Gaddafi wanted an additional four female bodyguards. “I would choose those girls. The women would be very excited if they were picked for a Qaddafi trip."

She also explains why a 'Gaddafi girl' needs to be tall. “They all had to be army officers. They must be tall, because they would stand behind Gaddafi."

If look into the other side of the story, few reports have revealed how the exiled Libyan leader used the women for satisfying his sexual fantasies. Five of the female bodyguards revealed that they were raped repeatedly by Gaddafi and his sons and were dumped after the men got "bored" of them.

A newspaper stated, "A pattern emerged in the stories. The women would be first raped by the dictator and then passed on, like used objects, to one of his sons and eventually to high-ranking officials for more abuse before eventually being let go."

So, these facts and reports clearly claims that Gaddafi, apart from equalising the status of men and women under his regime, also, molested them, satisfying his selfish sexual needs.

OneIndia News