Females are considered to be the gentler sex. They are typically the care givers in society and less aggressive than men. However, with changing times this notion should also change. Today not only women have proved to be hard working, they have also proved that they could counter-balance a male-dominated world which is characterized by aggression in attitudes, thoughts, society and, ultimately, war. However, this doesn’t change the notion that women are not fit for military.

Women have played many roles in the military, from ancient warrior women, to the women currently serving in conflicts. Despite this the role of women in the military has been controversial and it is only recently that women have begun to be given a more prominent role in contemporary armed forces of the world.

However, the debate about suitability of women in military still continues. The reasons provided were many. If we believe history, the female skeletal system was more prone to breakage. Their bodies were not adept to handle excessive g-forces experienced in combat flying. But all these notions were proven to be false. Rather there is evidence that the male body is less able to handle the g-forces than the female body. Women are less likely to black out due to shorter blood vessel routes in the neck.

Another vital reasons why historical societies stopped their women from joining the forces was the customs which assigned responsibilities of home to women. She was to take care of the family, children and thus her absence would directly affect the smooth functioning of the family.

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. There are also chances of romantic relationships between men and women on the front lines which could disrupt the fighting capability. Another fear was that a high number of women would deliberately become pregnant in order to escape combat duties. Another argument said that inclusion of women in combat unit places women at risk of being captured and tortured and possibly sexually assaulted. A lot others believe that civilians are often not intimidated by female soldiers.

People with such beliefs are those who are not able to see that the picture of 21st century woman has changed drastically. Today home is not her only concern. Many of them are running nations successfully. This clearly proves that it is time we give up these old notions and open our eyes to accept that women today are capable of handling war-situations as good as any man.

A lot of countries permit their women to fill active combat roles like Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Israel, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland. Some nations allow female soldiers to serve in certain Combat Arms positions, such as India, UK and US. Turkey uses female officers in combat flying (bombardment) missions. Pakistan employs women in Air Force and has used female fighter pilots in search, monitoring and bombardment operations in her war against militancy. When women are successfully juggling the stressful work-life and are able to balance issues that civilian deal with, then why can’t they do that being a part of military. Women who are a part of different defense forces have shown the world that they can ignore the barriers of the world and leap ahead to show full commitment to their nation before their families. These women demonstrate how far women have advanced over years since female soldiers began serving alongside their male peers in the military. When women could have served in combat during the Revolutionary War, if it nuisance to believe that they cannot today.

Team MSN She