Should women be allowed to do the same roles as men in the armed forces?
There are currently 500 British women serving with our armed forces in Afghanistan. On a daily basis they put their lives at risk - just like their male colleagues. But, unlike men, there are still military roles from which they are excluded. In 2002, a Ministry of Defence review concluded that female soldiers should not be allowed to do duties in which they 'are required deliberately to close with and kill the enemy face to face'. Since the publication of this review, a number of women in the armed forces have died serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Ministry of Defence is once again taking a look at whether or not female soldiers should be allowed to take part in close combat. To discuss the issue, Jenni is joined by Colette Waters a former captain in the Royal Engineers and by Dr Victoria Basham, from the University of Exeter, who has carried out research on diversity and equality in the military.
