Women in the Resistenza
Author: Milan Spindler
Italian women played a vital role in resisting fascism and occupation, providing aid to the persecuted, organising food supplies, and even participating in armed struggle. Yet after the war, their efforts were largely overshadowed. This section illuminates how women became part of the Resistenza, and why their contributions were so long overlooked.
Under Mussolini, women were confined to roles as mothers and homemakers, politically and legally subordinate to their husbands. Italy’s civil and criminal laws reflected this inequality, and women were excluded from any political responsibility.
Following the 8 September 1943 armistice and the collapse of the Italian army, many women emerged spontaneously in active roles. They aided deserters, providing civilian clothing and safe havens, and organised food and intelligence. Without their support, the emergence of effective resistance would have been inconceivable.
From late 1943 to mid‑1944, women’s engagement evolved into organised activity. In cities such as Milan, Turin, and Florence, the Gruppi di Difesa della Donna e di Assistenza ai Combattenti (GDD) were formed; they were subsequently officially recognised by the CLN. The GDD distributed clothing and equipment to partisan units, supported prisoners and their families, and circulated illicit literature to mobilise further female involvement. Many served as nurses or helpers, hiding wounded partisans at great personal risk. In total, approximately 70,000 women joined the GDD, which later merged into the Unione Donne Italiane, aligned with the PCI.
Beyond logistical roles, many women took up arms. As couriers (known as stafette), they conveyed messages and weapons under constant threat of arrest, torture, or execution. Some even took up arms directly, often overcoming resistance from male comrades who saw women as supporters, not equals in combat. Nonetheless, women assumed leadership: estimates suggest 35,000 participated in armed operations, with around 500 leading their own partisan units
Despite playing indispensable roles, women were marginalised after the war. Public memory portrayed them as the ‘mothers of the resistance’ or caring sisters, rather than as equal combatants. Active female fighters were seldom acknowledged with recognition. Instead, they were often tarnished with accusations of moral looseness, stemming from shared life with men in the mountains. They were largely excluded from liberation ceremonies and parades in spring 1945. However, many re‑enacted photographs of women partisans at arms were taken in the immediate post‑war period, and women fighters were officially recognised as members of the Italian military.
After 1945, many returned to traditional roles. Others forged new paths, founding women’s sections in post‑war political parties (the DC and PCI) and striving to modernise Italian women’s lives. Former female partisans assumed leadership in unions, education, and public life, becoming role models for a new generation of Italian women.