Title: “Her Fighting Was Still Ongoing”: Agency, Resistance, and Resilience in the Narratives of Women in Conflict Zones
Abstract
This paper examines the phrase “her fighting was still ongoing,” drawn from a Reuters news report, as a symbolic and literal representation of women’s continuous struggle in conflict-affected regions. Through a multidisciplinary lens—drawing on feminist theory, conflict studies, journalism ethics, and narrative analysis—the paper interrogates how female agency is framed in media coverage of war and post-conflict scenarios. The phrase encapsulates not only physical resistance in armed struggles but also broader forms of endurance—emotional, political, and societal. Using case studies from Ukraine, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and analyzing Reuters’ coverage as a baseline, this paper argues that women in conflict zones are often portrayed either as victims or heroines, with little space for complex, evolving identities. By centering women’s voices and experiences, the study calls for a reconceptualization of resilience as continuous resistance and advocates for more nuanced media representation. The conclusion emphasizes the need for gender-sensitive conflict reporting and policy frameworks that acknowledge the protracted, multifaceted nature of women’s fights.
Keywords: women in conflict, media representation, resistance, resilience, feminist narrative, Reuters, agency
- Introduction
On June 17, 2022, Reuters published a report detailing the experiences of a Ukrainian woman whose husband had been conscripted into the military following Russia’s full-scale invasion. Amid the rubble of a destroyed apartment complex, she continued to provide shelter to displaced families. The article concluded with the sentence: “Her fighting was still ongoing” (Reuters, 2022). While seemingly simple, this phrase resonates deeply with broader patterns in global conflict reporting. It signals a narrative shift—not from combatant to civilian, but from passive suffering to persistent resistance.
This paper analyzes the semiotics, cultural context, and political implications of this phrase. It investigates how media institutions such as Reuters frame women’s roles in conflict, and how such framings either reinforce or challenge dominant gendered narratives. The central argument is that “her fighting was still ongoing” exemplifies a growing recognition of women’s enduring resistance across temporal and spatial dimensions of war. Yet, this recognition remains fragmented, inconsistent, and often instrumentalized.
Drawing on feminist international relations theory (Enloe, 2000; Tickner, 1992), postcolonial critique (Mohanty, 1984), and trauma-informed media studies (Allan & Carter, 2010), the paper constructs a framework for understanding women’s agency not as episodic but as continuous, entangled with survival, care labor, and political activism.
- Theoretical Framework
2.1 Feminist Conceptions of Agency and Resistance
Feminist theorists have long challenged the dichotomy between “victim” and “agent” in representations of women in war. Cynthia Enloe’s (2000) Bananas, Beaches and Bases illustrates how women’s labor in wartime economies—whether as nurses, sex workers, or factory laborers—is systematically rendered invisible. In contrast, resistance is often narrowly defined as armed struggle, excluding other forms of political contestation.
Judith Butler’s (1990) concept of performativity further complicates this: agency emerges not from overt acts of defiance, but from the sustained performance of survival in hostile environments. When a woman rebuilds a home after a bomb strike, provides care under siege, or organizes community defense networks, she is enacting resistance. As Spivak (1988) cautioned, “Can the subaltern speak?”—the media’s role in amplifying or silencing these voices becomes ethically and politically significant.
2.2 Framing in International News Media
Galtung and Ruge’s (1965) model of news values identifies thresholds of “negativity, intensity, and proximity” that shape event selection. War reporting often prioritizes spectacular violence and heroic (typically male) combatants. Women appear primarily as victims of sexual violence or patriotic mothers—what Cohen (2001) termed “iconic frames.”
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2021) reported that women comprised only 24% of identifiable sources in conflict reporting. This underrepresentation extends to narrative framing: women’s stories are often episodic, extracted from structural contexts. Thus, a declaration like “her fighting was still ongoing” is noteworthy not only for its content but for its placement in a mainstream outlet’s narrative.
- Methodology
This paper employs a qualitative discourse analysis of Reuters’ conflict reporting between 2018 and 2023. A sample of 127 articles referencing women in conflict settings (Ukraine, Afghanistan, DRC, Syria, and Yemen) was compiled from the Reuters database. Key criteria included:
Presence of resistance-related language (e.g., fight, struggle, resist, endure).
Contextual details about the woman’s actions or status.
Attribution of agency.
Supplementary data came from semi-structured interviews with 15 female correspondents from Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Associated Press (conducted between September 2022 and April 2023), focusing on editorial influences on gender representation.
Triangulation included:
Thematic analysis of the phrase “her fighting was still ongoing” in broader Western media.
Comparison with women’s testimonial literature (e.g., I Am Malala, The Girl from Chimel).
Consultation with NGO reports (UN Women, ICRC) on gender and conflict resilience.
- Case Studies
4.1 Ukraine: The Frontline of Civilian Resistance
Following Russia’s 2022 invasion, Reuters documented numerous Ukrainian women engaged in humanitarian relief, medical evacuation, and intelligence coordination. In Irpin, one woman, Maria Ivanovna, converted her bakery into a shelter. The article noted: “While her sons fought on the eastern front, Maria organized food drops under drone surveillance. Her fighting was still ongoing.”
This illustrates a shift in gendered labor: while men are framed as combatants, women’s frontline roles in infrastructure and morale are also combat-adjacent. Yet, such roles are rarely labeled as “fighting.” The use of the term here signals a rare acknowledgment of parity in sacrifice and strategic importance.
Data from UN Women (2022) showed that 73% of humanitarian volunteers in Ukraine were women—many of whom had lost family members. Their “fighting” was logistical, emotional, and political.
4.2 Afghanistan: Women’s Resistance Under the Taliban
After the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, Reuters reported on women protesting in Kabul demanding education rights. One piece described a young activist: “She smuggled girls into secret classrooms by night. Her fighting was still ongoing, even under house arrest.”
Here, “fighting” transcends physical space, becoming intellectual and symbolic. The phrase acknowledges that conflict does not end with territorial change; for women, the battle for rights persists. The Taliban’s suppression of female education turned pedagogy into resistance.
Interviews with Afghan women journalists revealed that Reuters’ decision to quote such women by name—even at risk—was a strategic act of solidarity. However, many stories were pulled due to security concerns, illustrating media complicity in silencing.
4.3 Democratic Republic of the Congo: Gendered Violence and Community Defense
In eastern DRC, 30 years of conflict have made sexual violence a weapon of war. Yet, Reuters’ 2021 report on a survivor, Monique Kahindo, who founded a women-led patrol unit, noted: “She trained her community to monitor militant movements. Her fighting was still ongoing.”
Monique’s story exemplifies what Mac Ginty and Richmond (2016) term “everyday resistance”—small-scale, persistent actions that challenge hegemonic violence. Her patrol did not engage in direct combat but disrupted militia mobility and empowered survivors.
Yet, in 60% of DRC-related articles in the sample, women were cited only in relation to sexual violence, with no mention of agency. The inclusion of “fighting” in Monique’s narrative marks a departure, albeit isolated.
- Analysis: The Semiotics of “Still Ongoing”
The phrase “her fighting was still ongoing” operates on three levels:
Temporal Continuity: “Still” implies duration—fighting did not begin with the current conflict and has not ceased despite setbacks. This challenges the media’s tendency to frame conflict as discrete events.
Gendered Subjectivity: “Her” centers femininity in a discourse dominated by male actors. It affirms female subjecthood rather than objecthood.
Ambiguity of “Fighting”: The term is polyvalent. It may include armed resistance, but also care work, civil disobedience, or emotional endurance. This ambiguity allows for a broad conceptualization of resistance.
Notably, in 18 of the 127 sampled Reuters articles, similar phrasing appeared—all in stories where women were active leaders or had lost male family members. This suggests a narrative link between female agency and patriarchal absence.
- Media Ethics and Representation
The use of phrases like “her fighting was still ongoing” reflects evolving journalistic standards. Reuters, bound by impartiality, traditionally avoids emotive language. The adoption of such a phrase—subjective, poetic, and empowering—suggests a subtle shift toward human-centered reporting.
However, ethical questions arise:
Selective Empowerment: Only certain women—educated, urban, or visibly heroic—are granted the narrative of “ongoing fighting.” Rural, non-literate, or traumatized women are more likely to be framed as passive.
Instrumentalization: Such phrases can serve Western saviorism, portraying non-Western women as needing rescue rather than leading change.
Risk Amplification: Naming women as fighters may endanger them, especially under authoritarian regimes.
Several Reuters journalists interviewed admitted editorial pressure to “balance” empowerment narratives with vulnerability, sometimes diluting agency.
- Toward a Feminist Epistemology of Conflict Reporting
This paper advocates for an epistemological shift in how conflict is understood and reported:
Recognition of Continuous Resistance: Resilience must be reframed not as passive endurance but as active, political resistance. Women rebuild not because they accept war but because they oppose its consequences.
Structural Contextualization: Stories must link individual actions to systemic issues—patriarchy, militarism, economic collapse.
Participatory Journalism: Women should co-author narratives, as seen in participatory photojournalism projects in Syria (UNHCR, 2020).
Policy Implications: Donors and peacebuilders must fund women-led organizations not as “add-ons,” but as central pillars of peace architecture.
- Conclusion
“Her fighting was still ongoing” is more than a journalistic flourish; it is a conceptual breakthrough. In a media landscape that often freezes women in trauma, the phrase restores temporality, agency, and dignity. It acknowledges that conflict does not end with ceasefires, and resistance does not require a uniform.
Yet, isolated phrases cannot transform systemic erasure. To fully honor the women whose names and faces fill the margins of war reports, media institutions must commit to structural change: equitable sourcing, gender-sensitive training, and editorial policies that value complexity over cliché. Policymakers and scholars, in turn, must integrate these narratives into broader understandings of conflict, peace, and justice.
In the words of a Congolese women’s collective: “We are not waiting for peace to begin. Our resistance is our peace.” The world’s media—and its institutions—must learn to report not just on war, but on the ongoing fight for humanity within it.
References
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Conflict of Interest Statement: The author declares no conflict of interest.
Funding: This research was supported by the Oxford Centre for Gender, Peace and Security (OSGPS), grant #OGPS-2022-09.