Women in the Military

Women have done incredible things within the history of the world. They have proven time and time again that they are equal in just about every way with the opposite gender. However now the question of whether they can or even should fight beside men in combat has come up. Many people think that because almost the whole world has recognized that each individual has all the same basic rights, regardless of their gender or race, that everyone can do the same job equally. This is simply not true and women should not be allowed to serve in combat roles. Although the lifting of the ban on women in combat seems to be “pro-woman” it is not. It is putting them in harm’s way and not just that; it is putting women in situations that are not suited for their gender. It is awful to hear the news of a soldier or a marine who lost their life defending this country, imagine hearing about a young woman losing her life for the same reason. Our country has enough grief from the men who die regularly defending our country and to have women being killed would leave a bad taste in the mouths of most Americans. Israel is a nation that has used women in combat roles before and it did not turn out the best for them. Not only did the Israeli army have to worry about whether or not they could do the same job but also they had to deal with sexual harassments happening from both their men and the men in the Arab army if the women were ever captured. The Israelis always feared for the women who were taken prisoners of war and the psychological effects that followed. (Lief, “Second Class in the Israeli Military”, U.S. News & World Report) Sexual harassments happen in the United States armed forces too and according to an article in the New Scientist more women in the military report sexual assault by colleagues on deployment than men. Of the nearly 4,000 members of the U.S. armed forces to report sexual assault or harassment, 88% of them were women. (Grossman, “The Right to Fight”) Even