Debate: Women in the military

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Should women be in the military?

Background and context

When discussing the history of women in combat, one might think of Joan of Arc who in 1429, at age 17, successfully led French troops into battle against the English. Hundreds of women disguised themselves as men to fight in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Beginning in 1942, separate military services for women were established, but women did not gain professional military status until 1948 when President Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act which limited their number to 2 percent of the total military. In 1991, the restriction of women from flying combat aircraft was repealed, but the 1948 law still bans women from serving on naval combat vessels http://www.cdi.org/issues/women/combat.html

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Should Women be in the draft?

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Yes

• It's true that women and men are different. Each gender has different ways of relating and solving problems. There are many jobs in the military that do not require physical strength, but are very necessary in time of war. Some women DO have the physical (upper body) strength to do historically male duties; they should be permitted combat duties. Certainly women are capable at general duties including, word processing, document management, code deciphering, food/laundry services, battlefield strategies...etc. >>> With this understanding, it is time to end the country's double standard that requires men (between the ages of 18 and 25) to register for the Selective Service while not requiring the same of women.

• The physical standards for military occupational specialties should be identical for both men and women

• To maintain its supremacy in the world, the US military needs all qualified individuals regardless of their gender

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No

• Most miltary jobs require physical work that women are not capable of. Women are generally not physically equal to men. On the aggregate, women are not as strong as men. Putting them on the front lines is of great risk to them and the military. The military requires a wide range of skills and strength, often not found in women. It is safer and more logical to only have men in a job like the military as women sometimes cannot handle these kinds of jobs.

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Should women be in military jobs that require little or no physical strength?

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Yes

• In the US military system there is no law that prohibits women being in combat

• Many nations welcome women in the military and have no laws restricting their access in military operations

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No

• Various combat and non combat incidents involving women prove women's participation in the military is very dangerous

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Public Opinion: What is the public stance on this issue ?

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Yes

• The American public supports women's participation in the military

• Views on women as passive domestic individuals stem from a patriarchal influence on history staring from the Ancient Greeks

• Well-known Greek philosophers argued that in the defense of the republic both men and women should equally participate

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No

If women go to war, who will take care of the children? /men can do it, but women have the maternal instinct." -

See also

• Debate: Women in combat
• Debate: Should women be allowed to join combat arms in the Indian army?
• Debate: Military draft

External links and resources