News from the SA water sector January 2013

Abstract

Fluid Thoughts Fluid Thoughts WRC CEO, Dhesigen Naidoo The end of 2012 saw the annual 16 days of activism against violence and abuse of South Africa’s most vulnerable – women and children. A few weeks before the start of the 16 days the media ran a seemingly unusual story, The ACLU or American Civil Liberties Union had begun an effort to get the US Army to revisit its policy that currently prevents women from serving in frontline combat zones. While the argument for complete equality is well understood, on the surface it may reflect a well-meaning military establishment that seeks to shield what it considers to be its more vulnerable half. On digging a little deeper, further facts emerge. A primary criterion for promotion in the US military appears to be combat experience. It would appear that the ACLU’s case is in fact against a systemic gender discrimination that results in direct disadvantage for women members of the US Army that prevents the further gender diversification of the Army’s hierarchy.

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