Gaddafi Women Bodyguards: Photos Of The Amazonian Guard
The former Libyan dictator's capture and death on Thursday was perhaps as ugly as his life was glamorous.
When it was revealed that Gaddafi was pulled from a sewage pipe (months after calling the Libyan people 'rats' when they rose up against him), it was a far fall from grace for the leader. To add insult to injury, it was later revealed that the deposed dictator died wearing a hairpiece.
In Muammar Gaddafi's younger days, he had a reputation for glamour. Most notably, the proclaimed "king of kings" showed up on diplomatic missions accompanied by a cadre of female bodyguards.
The Amazonian Guard, as Gaddafi's elite, all-female task force came to be known, comprised of women who were reportedly hand-selected by the Libyan leader and sworn virgins. Donning lipstick, heels, and jewelry in a country where many women wear veils in public, the contingency certainly turned heads. The women reportedly underwent "extensive martial arts and firearms training at a special academy" before they were officially inducted in the Guard, and their skills included flying fighter jets and hand-to-hand combat.
However, the Hollywood-esque brigade may have had a darker side. After Gaddafi went into hiding, a few of his former bodyguards reportedly came forward with rape allegations. In August, Seham Sergewa, a psychologist based in Benghazi who spoke with former members of the Amazonian Guard, told the Times of Malta: "Women came forward saying they had been raped by as many as 20 soldiers, sometimes in front of their husbands and children. In one case, a girl, around 18 or so, said she was raped in front of her father."
Below, see if you can spot the women of the Amazonian Guard accompanying Gaddafi:
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First Posted: 10/21/11 03:31 PM ET Updated: 12/21/11 05:12 AM ET