The Washington Post ^ | January 25, 2013 | Max Fisher
When outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that he had lifted the Pentagon’s ban on allowing women to serve in front-line combat roles, one of several questions it raised was: Is that unusual? Do a lot of countries allow women to serve in combat? The answer is that many Western, developed countries have women on their front-line forces. But outside of the West, it’s rare.
The map at the bottom of this page shows in red which countries formally permit women in combat positions. Shown in orange are countries that allow women to serve in military roles that involve fighting but not front-line combat. That typically means fighter pilots. In South Korea, women also serve in artillery and armored units.
A note on the data: It comes from piecemeal sources, mostly gathered by Foreign Policy’s Joshua Keating in this great overview (see also: National Geographic, NPR, New York Times). Rules and their enforcement for military servicewomen vary in different countries. And it’s possible that women serve in de facto combat roles in some countries not included here.
When outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that he had lifted the Pentagon’s ban on allowing women to serve in front-line combat roles, one of several questions it raised was: Is that unusual? Do a lot of countries allow women to serve in combat? The answer is that many Western, developed countries have women on their front-line forces. But outside of the West, it’s rare.
The map at the bottom of this page shows in red which countries formally permit women in combat positions. Shown in orange are countries that allow women to serve in military roles that involve fighting but not front-line combat. That typically means fighter pilots. In South Korea, women also serve in artillery and armored units.
A note on the data: It comes from piecemeal sources, mostly gathered by Foreign Policy’s Joshua Keating in this great overview (see also: National Geographic, NPR, New York Times). Rules and their enforcement for military servicewomen vary in different countries. And it’s possible that women serve in de facto combat roles in some countries not included here.
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