Politics is a dirty business. While true, did you know this sentiment was also the reason women were forbidden to vote? Yes, at one time, men and quite a few women were under the belief that members of the gentle sex would be sullied by engaging in any form of politics. It was best, they felt, if men were tasked with choosing a leader, even if the election of that leader would also have repercussions for the half of the population that was banned from voting.
In Israel in 2018, a country where women have always played a role in politics, even if it meant continually having to fight for their place, a country where, since its establishment, women have been a part of the people's army, there are still some people who think combat service could prove detrimental to women and it would, therefore, be better they did not serve in those units to begin with.
With the help of physicians, physiologists and nutritionists, the Israel Defense Forces examined female service in combat units. All the experts came to a similar conclusion: Instead of having someone's gender dictate where they serve in the military, more substantive considerations, like physical and mental aptness, should be considered. As the Segev Committee tasked with examining gender roles in the IDF concluded, there should be "optimal utilization of the entirety of the human capital Israeli society places at its disposal" regardless of gender in the IDF.
Although this and other recommendations of the esteemed committee will not be implemented, the IDF must not succumb to prejudices that will drag us backward in time.
A few facts for your consideration: Israel is one of the few countries to impose mandatory military service on women. Up until the 1970s, women were placed in auxiliary positions only. A shortage of quality personnel led to women being appointed to training positions in combat units at the end of that decade. By the late 1980s, women could also serve in combat support roles.
In the last two decades, women in the Western world have begun to be integrated into additional combat positions. In the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian militaries, there has been full equality among the genders since the 1980s. The same is also true of Canada, Britain, Germany and Austria. In comparison with these countries, the IDF lags far behind in its perception of gender roles and the way in which it makes use of the abilities of those who constitute 35% of all of its soldiers.
The High Court of Justice's 1996 ruling allowing Alice Miller, a then-23-year-old aeronautical engineer in the IDF, to take the qualification tests to serve as an air force pilot was an important step for the advancement of women in the Israeli military. Without this brave and determined young woman, there would be no female air force pilots, and the other combat positions would never have been opened to women.
The evil myths of prolapsed uteruses, fatal injuries and the irreparable mental harm female combat soldiers are said to endure are the fantasies of the feverish minds of people who are terrified by the changes they see taking place right in front of their eyes. These conservatives do not accept the essence of equality; it's just too much for them.
