Women in the Military

Gender discrimination is a paradigm that has affected the role of women in the society depicting her as a minority contributor. Although the number of women in the military continuously increases this mishap is predominantly depicted because women are not allowed to engage in most combat duties as their counterpart male partners in most countries for example Germany, Spain and Italy. This further stimulates the physical and mental characteristics of men and women which argue against the support of women in the battle field. Women are perceived to be weaker than men because of their body structure which contains less dense skeletal systems thus have a higher possibility of fracturing or breaking their body parts. It is also argued that women’s bodies cannot handle the g-forces that are part and parcel of combat pilots therefore, less regarded in the aviation unit. Moreover, women are perceived as more prone to health risks than men thus highly vulnerable. A fact the submarine departments relies on to deny women career opportunities in this field (Adeboyejo 7-15). Women are also considered as psychologically incompetent because men lack the confidence of women performing similar duties as them thus mistrusts them. Men are likely to develop sexual relationship with the women thus affecting their performances. This also leads to unwanted pregnancies which incapacitates the role of the women. Furthermore, women are more likely to be captured by war enemies to be later subjected to dehumanizing acts such as sexual harassment and torture. Cultural practices and beliefs also perpetuate gender discrimination in military as these practices do not allow women to perform military tasks which are regarded as men’s role. Women who engage in this practice are considered as sexually promiscuous and therefore alienated from the community. Therefore, women are forced to prove their competence more than men to counter these allegations (Silva 937-960). This report aims at sharing the views and experiences of women in the military to enable the society to broaden its perspective and knowledge in an attempt of dispelling this paradigm and improve the situation for other younger women who desire to purse military as their career. History of Women in US Military The role of women in the US military was highly emphasized from the early 1900s though gender discrepancy took the toll of their activities and they were not allowed to engage in many tasks that military men were involved in. For instance in 1917 women were recruited as military nurses and doctors to tend to the injured men. Between 1940 and 1943 women were allowed to volunteer their services into the military forces where military curriculum was prevailed to their vicinity. However, they were given small ranks and duties such as being auxiliary corps and administrative officers while the men were their bosses. In the 1990s women were allowed to involve themselves with combat roles though were not accorded the opportunity to participate in the front lines. They were given small menial tasks such as carrying heavy war equipments and weapons to the front lines (Baker 12-238). Lately the role of women in the military have been further defined as a small percentage engages in the combat duties, submarine operations and aviation duties such as military pilots as bans that restricted women from flying aviation planes and ships have been lifted, for instance approximately 170,000 military women are among the US forces deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan (Baker 205). However, they still have to concentrate on proving their competence to the men and the traditional society (Baker 183-227). Hardships that Women in the Military Face Civilization has not totally eradicated this phenomenon as the appointment of officers is still not fairly done because women are treated as the minority which favors the men availing more appointment vacancies to them. Also the selection criteria for women is higher in comparison to that of men as conducted research depicts women in this field to be more learned than men. Therefore, women need to prove their confidence as there are very limited slots for their enrollment into the combat unit for instance in America approximately 15% of the women in the military force are allowed to serve in the combat unit (Mitchell 176). Women also still have to face sexual abuse and molestation from their counter parts while conducting their tasks. On the contrary this unjustly actions go unpunished as women who report such incidents are perceived as weak and thus cannot handle pressure and danger (Onesto para2-5). On the other hand the life of military women who report the incidents are made miserable while in the force by men who would go to extents of killing those women as a teaching guide to others to keep their mouths shut. For example Spc. Kamisha who was murdered in cold blood by her assaulter who she had previously reported three times (Creveld 85). Clearly these complaints in most occasions fall on deaf ears thus perpetuating the criminal offense. For instance in reference to the above case, Spc. Kamisha had reported her assaulter three times with no stern action being taken against him. This increases the vigor of women as they attempt to overcome this predicament and shun it while trying to prosper in the military field. Military women are also commanding for respect and recognition of their rights from the male counterparts, the society and traditional beliefs (Creveld 82-98). It is also quite evident that men in the military receive recognition and acknowledgment for their efforts and success unlike women who have to fight for this provision by demanding popularity in the force which prevails opportunities for them to prove their competence. Also the fact that women are supposed to serve their families and fully dedicate their lives to family responsibilities has increased the campaigns against the incorporation of women in the combat unit especially in countries where Muslim as a religion is prevalent. Therefore, women try to perform dual duties of establishing their responsibilities in the military forces and at home as mothers, in an attempt of proving to the society and men in the military of their capabilities in addressing the two responsibilities to earn the same treatment and respect accorded to man (Mitchell 256). The society has depicted two different stereotypes in the human race where men are portrayed as more analytical than women thus performs their duties better than women. In the event women in the military have to emanate more effort so as to be accorded the same treatment as men and allowed to engage in tasks that men are involved in, for instance submarine and aviation activities. Therefore, women have to maximize on their liberation from administrative and cultural constraints to portray their independence and unshakable attitude to discern this allegations and prove their abilities to work under pressure depicting analytical skills (Hogg para. 3-6). Current Status of Women in the US Military. In the past women were banned from participating into ground combat activities as they did not fulfill the criteria set in the physical test standards. Currently these standards have been re-evaluated and changed to allow more women to perform combat duties as men because of the high demand for military troops to perpetuate peace in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the event women have been allowed to perform their civic responsibilities however, women are still demanding equal civic promotions and acknowledgment. This initiative has still not been fully approved even though implementation steps have taken place. Critics of this move argue that this provision will disrupt the cohesion of men while on duty thereby decreasing their performance and concentration. Also, more women are being recruited into military camps and marine forces. Furthermore, the women are now being trained to defend themselves against sexual harassment and discrimination to avert the inhuman vices that surround them (Manning 7-12). Conclusion The society, government, ethicists and critics should aim at stipulating legislations that support military women to enable them to develop their careers by availing the same treatment accorded to men and in the event protect their rights. Therefore, military women should volunteer to share their experiences both the hard times and jovial moments to enable effective publication of the social injustices they undergo and thus perpetuate the eradication of gender discrepancies in the military, thereby allowing more female youths with the desire of perpetuating their civic responsibility as military agents to do so with ease and pleasure. Word Count: 1413 Annotated Bibliography Adeboyejo, Betsy. â€Å"Women in the Military Face Increasing Opportunity and Risk. † Crisis (15591573). 110. 3 (2003): 7-15. Adeboyejo outlines the increased opportunities for recruiting women in the military as they are can now engage in Marine Corps and aviation unit activities. However, the author stipulates the risks that women have to face while in the military and sends an outcry to the relevant authority challenging them to re-evaluate their policies and improve the working environment for women. Baker, Anni. Life in the U. S. Armed Forces: (not) Just Another Job. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. The author gives the history of women in the military and the development the career has undergone. She further elaborates the duties of both women and men in the military outlining the dedication they put to protect the residents of their countries. Furthermore, she explains that they need to be highly regarded and respected for the work they do is cannot be compensated. Anni also encourages the youths to consider military as their career prospectus because it will give them a chance to fulfill their civic duty and thus reduce the crime rate in the society. Creveld, Van. â€Å"Armed But Not Dangerous: Women in the Israeli Military†. War in History. 7. 1 (2000): 82-98. The author explains the hardships that women in the military face. He further liberates the practice of women always being armed because he describes it as a mechanism for protecting themselves from unethical behaviors that deny them their rights. Hogg, Jennifer. Military Women – Ready to Rock the Boat 18th, July, 2008. Women's Media Center. 22nd, May, 2008. < http://www. womensmediacenter. com/ex/071808. html>. Jennifer Hogg an author in the Women's Media Center published this document with the aim of outlining issues that curb the development of women. She discusses the role the society, government and traditional practices plays in advocating for gender inequality. She uses the military career for women as an example and elaborates what these women face while trying to prove their self worth. Manning, Lory. â€Å"Military Women†. Women's Review of Books. 21. 5 (2004): 7-12. The author studies the life of women who peruse military as their career. The conditions and attitudes that the women in the military display are well elaborated in the journal. The author also mentions the struggle that the women have done to improve the condition of their career which has had a positive impact on the perception of the society and government bodies. Mitchell, Brian. Women in the Military: Flirting with Disaster. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 1998. The author explains the kind of conditions women in the military undergo describing the career as a disaster. He outlines the hardships women have to dwell with everyday and the extent the mechanisms they have adopted to be able to shun the paradigm of gender discrepancy. Onesto, Li. Reality for Women in the U. S. Military: Rape in Uniform. 8th, December, 1996. Revolutionary Worker #886. 22nd, May, 2009. < http://rwor. org>. Onesto, Li a revolutionary worker wrote this piece with the aim of uncovering the sexual harassment, molestation and abuse women in the military face. She explains that when she was on duty the things she saw were horrific as women would get gang raped and not report the incident for fear of her life. Onesto says that those incidents broke her heart thus decided to air out the grievances that women in the military face in an attempt of attracting the attention of the relevant authority. Silva, Jennifer. â€Å"A New Generation of Women? : How Female ROTC Cadets Negotiate the Tension between Masculine Military Culture and Traditional Femininity. † The University of North Carolina Press 87. 2 (2008): 937-960. The author conducted interviews on, military women and men in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps to learn how women surpass the allegation aired out because of going against traditional practices and indulging themselves in masculine activities.