A group of female soldiers who went to Iraq in 2003 as mechanics, supply clerks and engineers, returned home a year later as part of America’s first generation of female combat veterans. A new documentary film, Lioness, tells the story of five women who served together and were sent into direct ground combat - a violation of official Pentagon policy which dictates that women should not be assigned to such action. Jane talks to one of the directors of the film, Meg McLagan, about the changing nature of modern warfare, and to Shannon Morgan, a former mechanic with the 1st Engineer Battalion about how she went from living a 'country girl' life in Arkansas to fighting in some of the bloodiest counter-insurgency battles of the war.
Lioness, directed by Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers is being shown at the Human Rights International Festival tonight.
