Army claims physiology to ban women from combat – 01/21/2024 – Power

The Armed Forces instructed the Lula (PT) government to take a stance against an action in the STF (Supreme Federal Court) that attempts to allow women to have access to all military careers.

In one of the documents that supported the government’s position, the Army said that the inclusion of women in certain roles (in military jargon called weapons) could compromise military performance in a combat situation because of “female physiology”.

“It is necessary to recognize that female physiology, reflected in the execution of specific tasks in the combat zone, can compromise military performance in combat operations, depending on the operational environment,” wrote Colonel Sandro Ernesto Gomes, head of legal advice at the office of the Force commander, General Tomás Paiva.

The colonel also argues that in situations where the “use of violence reaches its limits, as a result, extreme physical and mental effort is also required from professional combatants.”

Therefore, according to him, equalizing access conditions for men and women disregards the “peculiarities of their activities”.

The arguments are included in a document written by Colonel Gomes that should be internally restricted to support the position of the AGU (Attorney General of the Union) before the STF. The internal opinion, however, ended up being sent to the Supreme Court.

The AGU welcomed the arguments presented by the Army and spoke out in the process against the immediate broad competition for military careers. Chief Minister Jorge Messias, however, decided to modulate the speech so as not to endorse the argument that the entry of women into certain weapons would represent a weakening of the Force.

Messias argued that the career of the Armed Forces is different from the Military Police — and, therefore, requires that its composition follows its own criteria. This is an AGU strategy to prevent the STF from following the same understanding applied in action against the PM of the Federal District, which ended with the overturning of a notice that separated only 10% of the corporation’s vacancies for women.

“Thus, given its marked differentiation with other careers, notably in view of the nature of the duties performed, any establishment of different access criteria for the exercise of certain activities in the Armed Forces, does not, in itself, constitute a discriminatory measure or disproportionate”, defended the AGU chief minister.

Deputy Attorney Elizeta Ramos presented three actions against laws that allow vacancies to be reserved or prohibit women from accessing certain careers in the Army, Navy and Air Force. The ADIs (Direct Unconstitutionality Actions) were delivered to the Supreme Court in October, a period in which she occupied, on an interim basis, the head of the PGR (Attorney General’s Office).

Each action has a rapporteur: Alexandre de Moraes (Army), André Mendonça (Navy) and Kassio Nunes Marques (Aeronautics).

The deputy attorney’s argument is that the sections of the laws that allow women to veto certain weapons within the Armed Forces represent “discrimination based on sex incompatible with the Federal Constitution.”

“There is no reasonable and constitutional basis capable of justifying the restriction of female participation in military corporations. If the legislator and the corporation consider that women are capable of holding the aforementioned positions, as they admit through the contested rule itself, it is not plausible to establish limits or restrictions on the exercise of this fundamental right, under penalty of manifestly discriminatory treatment”, said Elizeta in the action.

The deputy attorney also argues that the objective of the action is not to achieve a reserve of places for women in the Forces, but that there be gender equality in the competition for weapons.

“So that it is possible for 100% of all vacancies offered in the training courses for officers and career sergeants of the aforementioned Force to be accessible to women, if approved and classified in the corresponding public competitions, competing on equal terms with men .”

Women represent only 6% of the Army’s personnel

The Army has allowed women to join its ranks since 1992. Female participation, however, has made little progress: they represent only 6% of the Land Force personnel — 13,017 in a universe of more than 212 thousand active military personnel.

A 2012 law, called Project for the Insertion of the Female Sex in the Military Education Line of the Brazilian Army, was approved by Congress to allow women to take courses at Aman (Academia Militar das Agulhas Negas) to reach the officer level.

The proposal arose by decision of former president Dilma Rousseff (PT). The first students entered the Army Cadet Preparatory School in 2017, Aman in 2018 and graduated in 2021.

Access for women in the Army is not authorized for all weapons, which restricts female participation and limits future promotions to generalship.

They cannot be used in weapons considered more combative, such as Cavalry, Infantry, Artillery and Engineering. The soldiers who enter these roles are responsible for occupying the front line in battles, bringing weapons and armor into the confrontation, or supporting actions with cannons and building improvised bridges.

In combat arms, women can only enter those that require less physical effort. They are Communications (responsible for ensuring the exchange of information between the highest levels and battalion leaders) and War Material (which provides logistical support for the maintenance and operation of weapons, vehicles and aircraft).

Generals heard by Sheet state that the entry of women into the Army required a series of studies and repair work at military academies. The bedrooms were changed, new protocols for entering these spaces were established and the windows were tinted.

The rearrangement of Aman to receive the first group of women cost the Army R$64 million.

“Furthermore, with the training of the first officers and sergeants, it becomes essential to monitor the influence of this training on the continuity of their careers and with regard to their physical evolution. Therefore, it is considered that a prudent and responsible evolution of women to the courses combatants in the Military Military Education Line should wait a few more years, until more information is obtained regarding the consequences of military activity on the physical and mental health of these soldiers”, concluded the Army in the document sent to the AGU.

The female presence varies in each Force. In the Air Force, women represent just over 20% of the workforce (14,118 women out of a total of 67,605 soldiers) and are prevented from joining the infantry — the weapon responsible for combat on foot.

“Steps are already being taken to collect, analyze and monitor data that can safely support future policies for the inclusion of women, without neglecting the safeguarding of the physical and psychological integrity of this segment, as stated in the information provided by the Legal Consultancy with the FAB”, AGU told the Supreme Court.

In the Navy, women occupy 8,420 of the approximately 75,000 active positions — a total of 11%. The Force does not prohibit female participation in any weapon, but limits their access to positions and functions depending on the “requirements of the preparation of the Naval Power”, as the Navy said in a document to support the AGU’s position.

“The Navy is a pioneer in the participation of women in the Armed Forces […] and bases its actions on meritocracy and equality, offering equal opportunities to Brazilian citizens who wish to join the Force, without distinction of sex”, said the Force, in a statement.