According to Muslim mythology, a male Muslim who dies defending his religion of peace goes straight to the Muslim version of heaven where 72 virgins eagerly await to serve his every want. Apparently Libya's Moammar Gadhafi has a form of Muslim heaven on earth where "40 lipsticked virgins" attend to his basic need--survival--according to Lauren Frayer of AOL News.

Extensively and intensively trained in deadly martial arts, these handpicked killer virgin guardians are with him at all times, famously surrounding him in his travels.

Gadhafi established the Tripoli Women's Military Academy in 1979 as a symbol of women's emancipation. "I promised my mother to improve the situation of women in Libya," he reportedly said at the time. His mother, a Bedouin tribeswoman born when Libya was an Italian colony, was illiterate.

a spartan cement-block complex where 100 handpicked women drill in elite killing techniques, day and night, for three years. They're awoken by bugle call at 4:30 a.m. and jog for one and a half hours, before branching off into classes. Some train to fly MiG fighter jets, while others learn martial arts or how to fire rocket-propelled grenades.

"The three-year training program involves all aspects of soldiering, from firing artillery and rocket launchers to hand-to-hand combat and communications,"

(snip)

The academy's best students are dubbed "revolutionary nuns," and they never marry and dedicate their lives to the idea of Gadhafi's 1969 revolution. They're banned from having sex and swear an oath to protect the Libyan leader until death, if need be. In 1998, a bodyguard named Aisha threw herself on top of Gadhafi when Islamic militants ambushed his motorcade. A barrage of bullets killed her and injured two others, but Gadhafi escaped unharmed.

So while Gadhafi's all-female crew -- and especially their photos -- have been featured in many a tongue-in-cheek article in the Western press, they could actually prove powerful in protecting him.

Are they with him now? Probably.

Secretary of State Hilary R. Clinton and Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice have met their match. Gender equality at last.