TROOP REVIEW: Female soldiers in Afghanistan

That women make an important contribution to the fight in Afghanistan, we have already reported some time ago. Today we want to show you - completely uninfluenced by the current discussion on compulsory military service for women in Austria or the complete gender equality discussion in the USA regarding the Army and Marines - that not only the US Army deploys its female soldiers outside secure zones.

The US Marine Corps also deploys women in combat zones, especially as part of so-called "Female Engagement Teams". In this case, engagement does not refer to combat, but rather to addressing issues of the local female population.

Among Canadians, women can be found in almost all roles of military life. For example, Capt. Nichola Goddard worked as a forward observer and commander before being killed in combat in 2006.

Equality in the military - similar to Canadians - is also well advanced among Australians and New Zealanders. In the land of Kangaroos, women have been allowed to take on all roles in frontline combat since 2011. Part of this equality strategy is that female soldiers must meet the same physical and mental requirements as men and are not given preferential treatment.

The only other country with such emancipated combat troops is, by the way, Israel, which is not represented in Afghanistan as is well known.