Lekelesh Bayan, who watched her husband get killed, is just one of thousands of women who fought alongside Ethiopian men during the Italian occupation from 1935 to 1941. A decree issued on November 30, 1944, and enacted January 20, 1945, identified the three categories of combatants who contributed to the resistance during the occupation, and the medal each received. These three categories of combatants were the arbegna, the yewist arbegna, and sidetegna. The arbegna was a patriot who received the “Medal of the Campaign 1936–1941” for engaging the enemy in combat. The yewist arbegna was an underground patriot who operated in Italian organizational networks and passed on information and supplies to patriots in the field; he or she received the “Medal of the Patriots of the Interior.” The sidetegna was a refugee, who received the “Medal of the Patriot Refugees,” which recognized supporters of the resistance from outside the country. The largest number of refugees fled to Kenya and Sudan, but some of the aristocracy accompanied Emperor Haile Selassie to Britain and others went to Jerusalem. The courageous actions of medal recipients listed in the Book of Honor 1935–1941 had to be verified by fellow combatants.

The significance of women's contribution to the resistance was publicly recognized in the Book of Honor. Tsehai Berhane Sellassie estimates that approximately one-third of the names recorded there belong to women.