One of the most obvious concerns regarding women in combat situations is the fact that, on average, female soldiers do not possess as much physical strength as their male counterparts and this may put them at a disadvantage when fighting males. Furthermore the disruption of a combat unit's esprit de corps is cited as another reason for women to be banned from front-line combat situations. Indeed, many soldiers have stated that they could not trust a woman to perform her duties in a place where trusting their fellow soldier would be critical.
(answers.yahoo.com/question) 16/05/08
There is a secondary concern that romantic relationships between men and women on the front line could disrupt a unit's fighting capability and a fear that a high number of women would deliberately become pregnant in order to escape combat duties.
In the British Army, which continues to bar women from serving in infantry units, all recruits joining to fill infantry vacancies partake in a separate training program called the Combat Infantryman's Course. This all male course is kept segregated from other training courses in part to maintain the "Boy's Club" culture that has proven effective within such units. If women we allowed to join the infantry then this could have an affect on the male bonding during training. A third argument against the inclusion of women in combat units is that placing women in combat where they are at risk of being captured and tortured and possibly sexually assaulted is unacceptable. Whereas this point is countered, by the fact that women who are currently in non-combat roles are still exposed to the risk of capture and sexual abuse, yet are not given the weapons or training to adequately defend themselves through combat. Furthermore, it is argued that women who joined the military in combat roles would almost certainly be aware of the risks and accept them.
(www.army.mod.uk) 19/05/08
Some sources also claim that we are creating a military that treats our women as second-class citizens and not equals of men. Other sources explain and state that without women, the military would have numerous manpower shortfalls they would not be able to fill.
Here is a quote from Major Clarkson who was deployed to Iraq 13 months ago relating to women in the infantry- "I’d say women are in combat, and anyone who says they shouldn’t be in combat, clearly isn’t in touch with what’s going on right now, I think there’s a lot of consternation about women serving in combat roles in infantry and cavalry types – that’s a sticking point because I think it has less to do with the capability of women to do the job and more to do with the inability of men to handle women doing the job."
(www. worldblog.msnbc.msn.com) 19/05/08
From the above quote it suggests that even though women are not actually allowed to join the infantry there job consists of being part of the infantry when on a battle field. This then relates to the functional approach, if women can do the job then they should be allowed to join, fact. Women can do the job or role of an infantry solider but only when they are put into a war zone and so forth. If women are unable to do the job when on a battle field they will not be asked to do it, whereas if there is a women on the battle field who can offer help, security and support then she will be allowed to do the job, the men she is working with will also be able to gain trust and have they ability to rely her knowing that she is capable to carry out the task. Even though officially women cannot join the infantry it does not stop them carrying out this role when put on a battle field, most of the time they do not have a choice but to a certain extent they are not given the training of an infantry soldier.
There is not much research available for this topic and it has not been looked upon enough, there are many opinions and views and most come down to the fact that some people feel that women are not physically strong enough to carry out the job but then this is only and opinion and can be proved wrong if given the chance to do so. There are many cons of why women are not allowed to join the infantry and limited pros as women who want to join the infantry have not been given the opportunity to prove them selves worthy or good enough.
I feel that women should be allowed to join the infantry as long as they have the adequate requirements and are able to carry out their job role effectively along side males. I think that the functional concept relates well to this subject. But I think that it should not be a matter of gender, if a person cannot fulfill the role of an infantry solider then they should not be allowed to join. If women can fulfill the role then she should be allowed to join and the same goes for a man, if they are good enough.
Word Count – 1084
References
www.answers.yahoo.com/question (16/05/08)
www.army.mod.uk (19/05/08)
www. worldblog.msnbc.msn.com (19/05/08)
