Female troops take issue with German plan for gendered ranks
GERMANY is reportedly considering plans to introduce new ranks for women serving in its armed forces.
In future, a female petty officer – a naval rank – could be designated bootsfrau, or boatwoman, while a female army major would become majorin.
The change is being put forward by advisers to Annegret Kramp-karrenbauer, the German defence minister, but has run into opposition from women serving in the armed forces who say it introduces unnecessary discrimination between the sexes.
The issue has arisen because German, like French, is a gendered language, with masculine and feminine forms for most professions.
But military ranks have traditionally existed only in the masculine form.
Women serving in the armed forces are addressed as Frau, followed by their rank – Frau Major, or Madam Major, for example.
The military’s equal opportunities commissioner has long campaigned for a change, but has run into repeated opposition from women serving in the armed forces.
The latest proposals are no exception. The slogan, “Gendered ranks have nothing at all to do with emancipation” has been shared repeatedly by women soldiers on social media.
“The uniform knows no colour or gender, everyone is the same, everyone is a comrade. It unites us, as does the rank, which is the same for everyone,” wrote a soldier identifying herself as Lt Wiedke Hönicke.
“The Bundeswehr thrives on the fact that troops live in camaraderie and unity at all times. For me, equality is not about ranks that differentiate between the sexes. It is about equal rights and duties.”
The plans have also come under fire from politicians who say they are a distraction at a time when the German armed forces are underfunded and suffering from equipment shortages.
“When I speak to female troops, they do not complain about a non-gendered rank, but about shortages of protective vests and boots, uniforms, and aviator suits in their size,” Siemtje Möller, an MP from the centre-left Social Democrats told the Welt newspaper.
“A gendered rank might be nice to have, but it doesn’t address equipment shortages, which particularly affect women.”
“It’s completely irrelevant to me whether there are gendered ranks,” Marie-agnes Strack-zimmermann of the opposition Free Democrats said.
“As far as I can see, the Bundeswehr has more pressing concerns.”
Ms Kramp-karrenbauer is not the first defence minister to be accused of focusing on other issues while neglecting to address the German military’s equipment shortages.
Her predecessor, Ursula von der Leyen – now the president of the European Commission – famously introduced army crèches and flexible working hours at the same time that equipment shortages were forcing German troops to use broomsticks instead of guns on Nato exercises.
Ms Kramp-karrenbauer has yet to comment publicly on the proposed new ranks, but she is reportedly to make a decision whether to press ahead with the plan next week.