Woman Role in the Army. A Study on the Chilean Experiences

Abstract

The alternative of fighting was until recently considered a men ́s field and reserved only to them. The historical trend shows that with the exception of certain heroines and figures from my- thology, women have taken part in combat only in very exceptional circumstances. However, this has been changing in the past few decades and more recently nobody is surprised to see women wielding weapons and commanding units in combat, and their performance ranges from those in uniform to the peshmerga fighting women in the Middle East. This article reviews the matter, focusing the anal- ysis on the situation of women in the Chilean Army, from those times when women first joined the ranks, through the initial restrictions on their performance, until this year, when they are virtually in a situation of symmetry with men comrades.