Should women be enrolled in combat units?

-Sadikshya Lohani ,8B ,22

Not too long ago, Ukrainian women were fighting for equal rights in the
military. Today, women throughout the country are proving themselves
critical for their war against Russia. Should women be allowed to leave
footprints in the combat unit? Some assert it's a women's right to be able
to fight alongside men. While some state that by letting women in
ground troops their rights are being taken away from them.
Opportunities for women to serve in combat have recently increased
worldwide. A combat simply is a violent conflict. It means to physically
harm or kill the opposition. Women have been contributing and fighting
in various wars alongside men all through the history, but the idea has
still not been accepted everywhere. While most countries use women as
combat support, very few include them as ground troops.
According to the University of Southern California researchers, though
men are physically stronger than women on average, they are more
affected by psychological momentum than women. Considering the
mental toughness in certain circumstances, women have the edge. Most
women don’t crack under extreme mental pressure and remain calm and
collected whereas, men feel persuaded by their minds to rush and make,
hasty, risky choices. Sectors like having to make rushed decisions while
in war, post-war trauma, the mindset of being not too competitive and
the role of companionship prove that a good stable mentality is just as
crucial while serving in the military as a good athletic body. A
discussion is often raised on the fact that men biologically have more
muscular potential. This statement is somewhat true. Women do have
lesser muscle mass, on the other hand, they are faster and have higher
pain tolerance than the average man. Biologically, women have the
capacity to recover faster. Their small physiques make them very
convenient.
By engaging women in combat, females that have been strained of
education would be given the necessary resources to be educated while
joining the military. In addition to that, women would be more respected
as citizens seem to pay huge respect to people involved in the military.
Seeing a woman fight in a war with viciousness and fierceness when
society expects them to be soft and sensitive would inspire so many
young little girls to do the same for their countries when the days come.
And honestly, passing up a person that possesses all the important
elements of being a soldier just because she’s a girl seems absurd.
Pregnancy and maternity leaves are highlighted as major problems. The
incorrect perception that military women lose a disproportionate share of
work time, primarily due to pregnancy, has also been used to justify
unequal treatment. Studies show, that taking maternity leave is not a
major problem as women tend to have lower absenteeism than men who
are apt to have discipline problems due to fighting, alcohol, or drugs. So,
shouldn’t we be focusing on proper discipline instead?
In addition to that, people mention physical and sexual assault as a
problem for females to join combat units. Women tend to get sexually
and physically assaulted in the battleground or by their seniors. This is
said to be one of the main issues that are delaying the military from
gaining more female counterparts. Some people state that putting a male
and female together can be troublesome as some men tend to get
sexually aroused which later leads to harassment and assault. While this
statement might be partly true, the dorms are separated by gender in
military base camps. Also, the fact that men, too, get assaulted and
harassed but it's taken very lightly is noteworthy. But still, in such cases,
the military can establish a council where this problem can be talked
about and resolved.
Menstruation problems are also frequently brought up for barring
females to join the ground troop units. Fighting a war with throbbing
aches, cramps, and soreness in your body is disadvantageous. Still,
women should not be underestimated because of something that only
happens once a month. Women have been doing advanced things while
being on their cycles for years and will continue doing it. Menstruation
cycles should not be an excuse to exclude women from combats.
Evidence suggests that mixed-gender units may communicate and work
better than single-gender units performing similar tasks. Never mind the
emotional outburst that can happen once in a while, women can be brave
when the situation calls for it. As for physical and sexual abuse,
servicemen can experience these too. Some people just get lucky and
some are unlucky. Conclusively, anyone (male/female) who can pass the
same military test should be allowed in the combat unit as combat isn’t
about “manpower” but about skills and techniques. So, yes if a woman is
allowed to be in combat units and treated the same way as a male is, it
would make the military more efficient. And in the words of Olga
Limarenko, “we are not weak, we are just waiting “.
Conclusively, there should be gender-neutral performance-based job
standards for all positions, which would enable any individual who can
meet these standards to be eligible for the position. Of Course, there are
pros and cons of including women in combat units. Perhaps, there are
more pros than cons. If we all come together and eliminate the cons, the
military would be comparatively better.