Women Still Fighting for Rights
The Denver Post
February 24, 2002

"Why do women let themselves be subjugated?" My questioner was a thoughtful young woman attending a Colorado high school conference. I paused a minute, wanting to do justice to this complex issue.

"Fear and culture are two reasons," I responded. "Domestic violence and harsh religious laws like the Taliban imposed intimidate women into submission. In many cultures, women are taught that they are inferior to men. But, often, it's because women-or any subjugated group-don't stand up for themselves."

It's not easy to stand up for your rights. Society punishes those who go against its norms. People with power over others are threatened by change and will fight bitterly to stop it. But, change only comes when individuals stand up for their rights against all odds. Martin Luther King was one whose devotion to his principles changed American culture and law forever.

In smaller ways, many Americans have risked their reputations and careers to battle for equal rights and justice. Lt. Colonel Martha McSally is engaged in such a struggle right now. She was the first woman fighter pilot to fly her plane in a combat zone. She is a graduate of the Air Force Academy, has a master's degree from Harvard and is a triathlete. She has been trained to be a fighter.

Assigned to duty in Saudi Arabia, McSally discovered that military women were required to wear the abaya (a full-length, dark robe that covers a woman's entire body) when they left the air base. Military men, on the other hand, only needed to dress conservatively. They can wear shirts and jeans.

State Department policy, meanwhile, specifies that female employees will not wear the abaya while on official business, and can make their own decisions about wearing it when off duty. It adds, "the embassy will support a woman in whatever personal choice she makes." Saudi Arabia's own guidance is for foreign women to dress conservatively, but does not specifically require them to fully cover themselves.

U.S. military rules for women in uniform in Saudi Arabia go beyond this dress code. In public, military women may not drive a car, sit in the front seat of a car or go off base unaccompanied by a man. The rationale is to protect women from harassment.

Lt. Col. McSally objected to these demeaning restrictions on American women's rights when she arrived in Saudi Arabia seven years ago. Having received no relief from the military hierarchy, she finally filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department last December, a move that will almost certainly destroy her career. Nonetheless, she felt so strongly about standing up for her rights that she put her future on the line.

McSally argues that American military women should not have more stringent dress restrictions than other non-Muslim foreign women in Saudi Arabia. She points out that American military men are not allowed to wear Saudi religious clothing. And, she adds, she is a devout Christian who believes her religious rights were violated by having to wear an Islamic garment. She has a partial victory on that issue. The military recently rescinded its order that women must wear the abaya in public, but still "strongly encourages" it.

The requirement that a man must accompany a military woman off base also rankled McSally. To go out in public, she was forced to request the company of men who were often under her command. She believes this undermined her authority with the men who worked for her and made her job more difficult than it would have been for her male counterparts.

Lt. Col. McSally's lawsuit will take years to resolve. Meanwhile, she has been reassigned to one of her old jobs, training pilots in Tucson, Arizona. As one who has angered her superiors, her military career is probably over. Yet, she is willing to stand up for herself and what she believes despite that high cost. For the young women at the Colorado high school conference, or for anyone who feels passionately about fairness, freedom of religion and equal rights under the law, she is an inspiration.