Women In The Frontline

499 Words2 Pages
Good afternoon, the topic that I will be contending today is based on the point of how there has been such a huge controversy surrounding the issue of gender equality in Australia’s special forces and frontline combat for so many years in the past, however, in the last 12 months the pressure to end this sexual discrimination against women and their roles in the army has been of extreme debate. The issue is not that women are not allowed any involvement in the military or special forces because in all honesty that’s not true, they are aloud roles in the military.. but only to a certain extent. Held back from showing their full potential or capabilities as trained elite frontline fighters due to nothing other than their sexual orientation. Why stop women from excelling to their full potential purely because of ignorant views on their abilities and stereotypes on the ‘differences’ between males and females physical endurance. If a woman has conducted the same amount and level of training as any other man in the special forces, why should her potential be cut short simply because a woman has never fought on the front line before? The women eager to fight in battle are aware of the consequences and wish to be given the same opportunities as men but due to the conservative view of many, are being held back from serving Australia. Defence minister Stephen Smith has acknowledged this issue as “ too much of a cultural change for some to handle”, however he is in full backing of the shift to equal rights amongst men and women in combat. He then continues to say that “All roles on the frontline will be determined on the basis of merit, not on the basis of sex” So the real question is, who is holding this official change in history back? The government, due to statistics showing that on average more women around the world die in combat than men, believed to be caused

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