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Following are excerpts from an Al-Arabiya TV program on the military training of pro-Qadhafi housewives, which aired on June 20, 1011.
Reporter: Huda Abd Al-Qadr is a Libyan housewife in her twenties from the city of Sirte. For two weeks, she has been leaving her home every day to participate in a weapons training course.
This kind of course takes place in various places in Libya, and its purpose is to train women of all ages and walks of life in dismantling and assembling weapons, as well as in firing light and heavy weapons.
Libyan housewife Huda Abd Al-Qadr: I have been training for ten days in the use of light weapons – 9 mm, sub-machine guns, Kalashnikovs, RPGs, as well as RGD 5 and F1 grenades.
Reporter: Family ties and the traditional dress code did not prevent these women from joining these courses, the graduation ceremonies of which turn into celebrations, in which these spectacles repeat themselves.
Libyan army officer Fatima Sabah Baraka: Women must train in the use of weapons, just like their brothers, the men, in order to protect themselves, their land, and their honor. We have trained in the use of several light and heavy weapons.
Reporter: According to the organizers, these courses aim at training Libyan women to protect themselves, and to get used to carrying and using a weapon. The courses take place in training camps, and then the women are incorporated in what the authorities call the “Popular Defense Corps.”
Libyan housewife Ibtisam Uthman: We were trained at school, which was not so long ago. We were trained in the use of light weapons, in order to defend our country and our Leader.
Reporter: The armed participants did not miss the opportunity to protest Al-Arabiya TV’s coverage of the events in Libya.
Libyan army officer Fatima Sabah Baraka: You, on Al-Arabiya TV, must show the truth, or at least a small part of the truth… The truth is that we love Mu’ammar Al-Qadhafi.
Reporter: From Sirte in Libya, this is Hadi Al-Hannashi for Al-Arabiya TV.