The Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, chaired by MK Pnina Tameno Shete (National Unity Party), convened on Tuesday for a special meeting marking the first anniversary of the October 7 massacre and the outbreak of the war (Swords of Iron).
Brig.-Gen. Shedo said, “I meet female soldiers and commanders in mandatory service and reserve duty, in squadrons, in Gaza and on ships, and they perform their duties with great determination.” She noted the increase in female candidates for security service, and said thousands of women currently serve in border protection, in the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps, and as military physicians and paramedics. “There is an increase in the number of women who have crossed the border, and we are currently talking about hundreds of women. Twenty percent of combat IDF soldiers are women. These are unfathomable figures. We have six [female] combat battalion commanders, and 65,000 women have performed reserve duty since the outbreak of the war, when less than 7,000 served in the IDF reserves during Operation Cast Lead. For the first time, women were recruited to Unit 669,” she said.
MK Michal Woldiger (Religious Zionism) read aloud from a letter written by a woman who objects to male and female soldiers sharing sleeping quarters during the war. MK Woldiger said, “I am in favor of incorporating female soldiers in the toughest roles, but we must understand that our view is not shared by everyone, and if someone thinks a woman should not sleep next to a man who is not her husband, then that voice has to be heard.”
(pic (c) IDF)