Women in the Military
By 2007, almost 20,000 women served in the army. This was about 10% of the Ukrainian army. During contract service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, women must abstain from marriage and motherhood. In the Ukrainian army, when a woman soldier gives birth, she goes on maternity leave for three years. Her vacancy is occupied. Then, without leaving the first decree, gives birth to a second, - says the minister. - In the US military, women abstain from marriage and motherhood during the term of the contract. Service in the army is a voluntary choice. So it will be fair if a woman signs a five-year contract and commits herself not to marry or have children during this period. By mutual agreement of the parties, the contract may be renewed.
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, by 2022 female soldiers and officers made up about 15 percent of Ukrainian army combat forces. Given that as of December 1, 2017, 10,009 women received the status of a participant in hostilities for direct participation in the ATO since 2014, the issue of ensuring equal conditions of service for men and women should be at the top of the agenda of security and defense sector reforms. By 2022, more than 30,000 Ukrainian women had become combat veterans. Those numbers shot up since the 2022 Russian invasion.
For the first time, women held a separate unit at the Independence Parade in 2018, during Poroshenko's presidency. The decision to separate women into a separate "box" was criticized even then, however, women were in the parade in the field, like the rest of the military. Women who consciously made their choices based not only on their vocation of heart or, frankly, purse, but who took into account their level of physical training, skills, abilities and knowledge, and brought them into the army. Such women are at the forefront. In the trenches. Ready for combat missions.
So where to get gender equality in the army, if in civilian life this same equality is rare? Legislation, by the way, also does not promote the adoption of the declared principles of equal opportunities for men and women. Laws governing relations in the field of security and defense develop the theme of women-guardians, women-mothers. As a result, first of all, men (commanders, colleagues) form a stereotype and the corresponding subconscious attitude.
Although the principles of gender equality underlie officer courses and military leadership courses for sergeants, the issue of gender is still far from being addressed systematically. Thus, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense expanded the list of military accounting specialties and positions that women can hold in the army by amending Order No. 337 (sergeant, soldier) and Order No. 42 (officer). There are developed manuals and scientific literature on gender equality in the army.
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