International

Israel’s religious affairs minister says it’s a ‘mistake’ to put ‘women in combat field units’

Published

2 years ago

August 3, 2021

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By Jenny Goldsberry

Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana Yamina says he opposes integration of women into combat units. Kahana is a former fighter pilot and Sayeret Matkal fighter.

“I think the integration of women into combat field units is a mistake,” he said Sunday at B’Sheva newspaper’s Jerusalem conference. “the IDF’s role is to defeat the enemy and not to advance social agendas.”

However, he doesn’t dismiss women’s involvement entirely. “There are places where the combination is relevant and women can make a very large contribution, such as fighter pilots,” Kahana said. “But it is not similar to infantry units, where there is a huge difference in the nature of the service. Just because there could be one soldier out of 1,000 who could withstand the pressure of being a fighter in the Givati Brigade, the cost is greater than the benefit.”

In June, Israel experimented with its first all-female pilot program. They sent 15 female tank operators to the Egyptian border. But the results were inconclusive.

Since then, the second pilot program features twice as many women. Israel Defense Forces did raise the height and weight requirements for the women involved.

Read the full article here.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.

International

Mental health crisis spikes among Afghan women after Taliban regained control two years ago

Published

6 days ago

September 21, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

The women of Afghanistan are suffering a mental health crisis since the Taliban regained power two years ago. According to a joint report from three U.N. agencies released Tuesday, approximately 70% of women experience feelings of anxiety, isolation and depression.

The numbers continue to rise, as there has already been a significant jump between April and June of this year alone, with an increase from 57% the preceding quarter.

The report, conducted by U.N. Women, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, interviewed women online, in-person and in group consultations as well as individual telesurveys.

592 Afghan women in 22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces took part in the study. The Associated Press reports:

They have barred women from most areas of public life and work and banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade. They have prohibited Afghan women from working at local and non-governmental organizations. The ban was extended to employees of the United Nations in April.

Opportunities to study continued to shrink as community-based education by international organizations was banned and home-based schooling initiatives were regularly shut down by the de facto authorities — a term use by the U.N. for the Taliban government.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education and the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The report also served as a vessel for Afghan women to send a message to the rest of the world: do not validate the Taliban government. Forty-six percent of women said international recognition of the Taliban government should not happen under any circumstances, while 50% warned that recognition should only occur under specific conditions contingent on improving women’s rights.

The report notes that the women expressed concern that recognition would only encourage the Taliban government to continue becoming stricter in their policies and practices against women and girls.

Afghan women had specific ideas and suggestions: they “urged the international community to continue political and economic sanctions against the Taliban, including by not granting exemptions to a travel ban. They urged an increase in engagement with the Taliban on gender equality and women’s rights, including by engaging community and religious leaders in awareness and advocacy efforts” writes the Associated Press.