Women in the Military

Women can vote. Women can run marathons. Women can run for public office. We've come a pretty long way in the last century. So why do so many people believe that women shouldn't be allowed to be in the front lines of the army?

After having a debate today in my International Issues/Public Policy class, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Why is rape such a huge issue in the military for women? Why is it that it's not okay for women to join the military and be in combat, even though they know the risk they take when signing up for the army. They understand that there is a chance they might die, get captured, and get tortured - they also realize that they could be raped. If an adult understands the consequences before partaking in something, shouldn't he/she be responsible for whatever happens? If you understand something, even though you may not like the idea of it, you still accept that it's a possibility and you enter the situation knowing that you take this risk. Women know they could get raped. They accept it. They move on. They join the army and want to serve their country.

What's wrong with that? The negative spouted some psychological nonsense about how women are needed more in the home for children to learn to read and develop. Perhaps that's true. Maybe it's not. Regardless, so are you saying that children who grow up with two male homosexual parents are going to be dumb and have a hard time reading? False. I think not.

Women want to fight in the military. They want to prove that they're just as capable of serving their country to their best ability. Let them do it. It's not even a discussion to be had anymore. Hello 21st century~