Editor's note:

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's choice of bodyguards has been the subject of much media attention. His 40-member bodyguard contingent, known as the Amazonian Guard, is entirely female. According to Wikipedia, all women who qualify for duty supposedly must be virgins, and are hand-picked by Gaddafi himself. They are trained in the use of firearms and martial arts at a special academy before entering service.

About?the Amazonian Guard

The Amazonian Guard is a name to an all-female elite cadre of bodyguards tasked with protecting the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. They are also known as the Revolutionary Nuns and the Green Nuns. >>

Gaddafi's favorite bodyguard died for him in 1998

In 1998, one of Gaddafi's female bodyguards sacrificed her life to save?him from an assassination. The dead bodyguard, rumored to be his favorite, threw herself on top of the Libyan leader to stop the bullets. >>

Wherever he goes, they follow

In December, 2007, Gaddafi arrived in Paris and stayed in a heated Bedouin tent pitched near the Elysee presidential palace. Gaddafi did not sleep in it. But it was closely guarded by his all-women bodyguards. >>

Women in Libya

The social position of Libyan women is inferior to that of men, and deeply rooted patriarchal values and traditions still persist. However,?the level of freedom and equality women experience rises in relation to the social class to which they belong. >>??? ︱? The state of women in the Arab world >>