“They should have let her fight,” Magdalena whispered to me behind her fan. The lovely Judith onstage lamented her position in Israelite society, desiring to fight back the invading horde alongside her brothers. Moved by the plight of her suffering countrymen, she swore vengeance against the Assyrians. “I would have let her fight, if I was in charge.”
This is a weird rendition. Judith's story was about using her wits and getting close in a way a warrior never would have been able to, because she was underestimated as a woman. She played to her strengths and triumphed for it.
This "women should all be warriors" mentality is such a juvenile and poor understanding of feminism. Yes, women should be able to be in positions men are, but being able to fight isn't feminist in itself.
