Women on the Frontline Essay Example

routine raids – neither of these tasks are deemed to be frontline material – showing that women are in danger irrespective of where they are serving in the armed forces. So why then are we still not allowing women to take their rightful places among men, as surely if women are going to be in danger anyway they should be given the equal opportunities as to where to fight?

The main excuse as to why women can’t fight on these frontlines is that they are not emotionally capable of killing another person. However if we look at the number of women in prison for murder or any violent offence we soon see this is not the case. Women have the mental capacity to kill another and this line of denial that our military top dogs are taking is ridiculous. As their second line of defence they will resort to the argument that: women are not strong to serve on the frontline. This is an unfounded debate. It is correct in that some women do not show the physical prowess of their male colleagues. But then again, there are plenty that do. Also the military training would work the same for women as it does for men in the way that women who meet the standards required of them would be drafted in the others would be let go.

This argument is reinforced by a statement from Australian Defence Minister “If an individual woman has got the physical, mental and psychological capacity to do a job, then if they can do the job on merit, pass the same standards that a man passes, qualify

in the same way a man does, then she should not be excluded”. We also see that none of countries that have already allowed women to serve in there militaries, like Australia and the USA, have went back on their decision and withdrawn any rulings so something must be going right.

The only debate, I find that has any basis to it is the possibility of sexual harassment towards female soldiers. However, isn’t what would happen within the army is just reflecting what already exists in any of the workforces and in wider society in general. This is seen by the fact that an American investigation into three of its military training academies and camps found that 14% of female students reported being sexually assaulted and nearly half reported sexual harassment and the statistics show that this is as much a reality in civilian life as it is in the military. And is it not fair to mention that women pursuing a military frontline career will be fully aware of this, and accept the risks involved in their chosen area of work.

Whatever way you look at it, women not being giving the same opportunities within the job market options as men is sexism at its most basic level. Whatever you can say about women, whether it is physical or mental may apply to some but certainly not to all. Also doesn’t the ideology of an equal society imply that all prospects should be – well – equal? The idea of not letting women fight on the front lines like men is uninformed. As I have proved women are in danger regardless of

what part of the armed forces they are in, and also women can have the agility to keep up with men on the frontlines. Therefore women should be allowed to train for and be drafted into the ‘frontlines’ of our military.