Equality of danger follows inevitably from equality of opportunity, says allan massie |
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More attention has been given to Faye Turney, the only woman in the detachment of Royal Navy personnel now being held prisoner in Iran, than to her 14 comrades. This is understandable. But it is also wrong. And it's sexist.
The thought of a young woman in such a predicament is a cause of anxiety and arouses natural feelings of revulsion, but her plight is a consequence of the decision taken some years ago that servicewomen should be allowed to take part in front-line operations. Many are doing so bravely and successfully in Iraq.
Nevertheless, those who thought the decision wrong will now feel justified in their opinion that women in the front line may be a distraction in more ways than one.
Be that as it may, it is unlikely that it will be reversed. For one thing, the armed forces are now under such strain - as a result of the
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| The case for allowing female soldiers to serve in the front line was made by women themselves in the name of equality |
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combination of Government neglect and the increased demands made on them in recent years - that it would be impractical to withdraw women from active service.
Moreover, the case for allowing them to serve in the front line (as women already do in, for example, the American and Israeli armies) was made by women themselves in the name of equality and the outlawing of discrimination against them.
What follows? Simply this: that where there is equality of opportunity there will also be equality of risk and danger. Discrimination has been outlawed; servicewomen are therefore no longer a special case or protected species.
We all sympathise with Faye Turney and her family, but no more than we should sympathise with her 14 equally unfortunate comrades and their families.
It's more than two centuries since Edmund Burke proclaimed the Age of Chivalry to be dead. It was finally buried when women had their wish to serve in the front line granted. Sad perhaps, but that's how it is. 
FIRST POSTED MARCH 28, 2007
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