The Armenian Genocide, orchestrated by the Ottoman Empire, was one of the most significant large-scale massacres of the early 20th century. Genocides often employ gender-based violence (GBV) to maximize their impact. During the Armenian Genocide, GBV was not merely incidental but a deliberate strategy to dismantle the Armenian social fabric. Women and girls were systematically targeted because of their roles as bearers of culture, identity and future generations. By inflicting sexual violence, the perpetrators aimed to dehumanize Armenians, destroy familial structures and erase their cultural identity. The Armenian case offers a chilling example of how gendered violence amplifies the devastating effects of genocide.
Rape during the Armenian Genocide was not isolated or opportunistic; it was systematic and widespread, serving as a psychological weapon to terrorize and humiliate. Reports documented by survivors and relief workers reveal how women were abducted during deportation marches and subjected to repeated sexual violence. Ottoman soldiers and local collaborators deliberately targeted young girls, mothers and even elderly women. Survivors have recounted harrowing stories of being assaulted in public or in front of their families. As Peter Balakian documents in The Burning Tigris, these acts were part of a calculated effort to strip women of their dignity and instill terror within the Armenian community.
Additionally, Balakian highlights how rape was used to enact cultural erasure. Many Armenian women who survived the attacks were impregnated by their rapists, rearing children who were often forcibly assimilated into Turkish or Kurdish society. This deliberate act of biological erasure ensured that Armenian bloodlines and cultural heritage were diluted, aligning with the broader genocidal objective.
The killing of pregnant women stands out as one of the most horrifying elements of GBV during the Armenian Genocide. Important eyewitness accounts and survivor testimonies from women survivors recount how Ottoman soldiers and paramilitaries targeted pregnant women to eliminate future Armenian generations. Khanum Palootzian was 21 years old when Turkish forces uprooted her village of Darman. She recounted how soldiers would slit open pregnant women’s bellies, sometimes removing fetuses to throw them against the rocks. These barbaric practices witnessed by Khanum symbolize the absolute denial of Armenian existence, even in its earliest stages of life.
Armenian woman kneeling beside dead child in field during the Armenian Genocide (Photo: Library of Congress)Balakian writes about how such acts were committed in public spaces to maximize their psychological impact. The brutality served as both a warning and a method of dehumanization, reducing Armenian women to mere vessels of annihilation. Raymond Kévorkian further elaborates in The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History that these murders were not random acts of violence but part of a broader genocidal policy to extinguish Armenian identity.
The trafficking and forced assimilation of Armenian women during the Genocide reflected a calculated effort to destroy Armenian identity through the manipulation of its most vulnerable members. Many women were abducted during deportations and sold into slavery or forced into marriages with Turkish or Kurdish men. These acts not only deprived the victims of their autonomy but also served the Ottoman regime’s goal of cultural genocide by erasing Armenian identity. It ensured that survivors were alienated from their culture and families. These women, stripped of their identities and forcibly converted to Islam, became instruments of assimilation.
The systematic nature of this practice reveals the Ottoman Empire’s intent to erase Armenian cultural existence by integrating women into the very society that sought to annihilate their people. Generations of women lived in enforced silence and trauma, disconnected from their Armenian heritage.
The gender-based violence perpetrated during the Armenian Genocide highlights the centrality of gender in understanding the full scope of genocidal atrocities. The deliberate targeting of women through rape, murder and forced assimilation was integral to the Ottoman Empire’s genocidal plan. Acknowledging these crimes is essential not only for historical accuracy but also to ensure justice for the victims and their descendants. The gendered violence seen during the Armenian Genocide set a precedent for later genocides, including those in Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. In all these cases, GBV was used to terrorize communities, destroy family units and erase cultural identities.
Recognizing and addressing the gendered dimensions of genocide is not merely an academic exercise but a moral imperative. By shedding light on GBV, we honor the memory of those who suffered and contribute to the ongoing struggle for accountability and prevention.
