Women and War – the Alteration of Society’s Core (Part I)

In ancient mythology there are tales of Amazon Warrior Women who cut off their breasts to better wield a bow. For many women – not all – this narrative cuts to the heart of the issue of forcing women into war.

Women are by human nature, nurturers, and the breast is a powerful symbol of that nurture. Nothing is so antithetical to the human spirit of nurture – for both men and women, but especially for a woman – than conscription into War.

In War, things are seen that cannot be unseen.

In War, things are instilled, expected and required of the participant which will forever change them.

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In the best light, the participant must have the ability to temporarily suspend whatever are their natural inclinations, especially if these go against some specific command.

In the worst light, the participant’s natural inclinations are either permanently altered or participation is an outlet for those who live by another nature. This second possibility is a hard one to contemplate.

For most (both men and women soldiers) I imagine that both the voluntary and conscripted soldier is trained in preparation to think and to act against their better nature.

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A woman soldier asked to kill an “enemy” child would be just one example of something that would especially go against the very nature of what it means to be a woman, in my mind.

And in my mind, this is not only too much for a nation to require of women by Conscription, but the move in that direction seems to be a sign of alteration of our society’s core values.

And whenever longstanding core values are altered, we must ask why and think through the implications and decide if this moves us toward betterment or further disintegration.

I recently listened to an account of a US woman combat medic in Iraq who told a story of her sergeant’s informing them that an enemy tactic was to push children in front of the convoy to slow it down, and that in the upcoming morning’s movements they were to stop at nothing in preventing this.¹ She told how this was a turning point in her life and her prior understandings of war, and set her on a journey of change in thought.

As we consider as a nation whether to fully pass and enact the current legislation in process, which is apparently embedded as a rider for 2022 defense spending bill and would require women to register for the draft,² thereby joining the United States to the list of nations that conscript women, I feel prompted to contemplate and write a series of posts and thoughts on this issue, and more.

To clarify, I have no issue with a woman voluntarily joining the military in any capacity and I believe women who do so should also be given every respect and fair treatment within the military itself.

In my mind, this is deeply a women’s issue, but I am approaching it from another side of feminist ideation.

I also hesitate to use the word feminist in the sense that many currently understand that term – as I would not at all label myself a feminist but I believe strongly in advocating for women in a number of ways, and ironically, I seek in this to advocate for all women. So hopefully this makes me a “feminist.”

I plan to take this series slowly, thoughtfully and carefully, as the subject is extremely messy, complex, potentially offensive to someone, somewhere… and crosses into the idea, in-and-of-itself, of a draft. I believe the rationale for this current legislation needs close examination and the interrelated topics involved can be reflected upon from various vantage points and worldviews, both secular and religious.

If you have read this far, I thank you for your interest and contemplation of these things. If you would like to be notified whenever there is a Part II, please subscribe.

“Nations that in present-day actively draft women into military service are Bolivia, Chad, Eritrea, Israel, Mozambique, Norway, North Korea and Sweden. Finland introduced voluntary female conscription in 1995, giving women between the ages of 18-29 an option to complete their military service alongside men.” (Source: Conscription – Wikipedia)