Liv- Blog 4

CSW blog 4

To begin with I must express how grateful I am that this semester is over!  Between full-time grad school, this fellowship, buying a new house, ER visits with my daughter, the last month has been CRAZY.  …. And with the completion of one epic research paper, comes a new one.  (Why do I do this to myself? ..... my idea of a Christmas break is a break from my master’s research?... just to research for a fellowship?).   All that being said, I truly cannot wait for Christmas break from work to dive deep into my research for the fellowship. 

Through many of my social connections I have met some folks from a variety of countries and have reached out to them regarding my research for WomenNC.  It is interesting and helpful to have your questions answered straight from the horse’s mouth rather than read a piece online that only leave you with more questions.  Discussing my topic with people from the countries with women in the military adds an interesting point of view to how we as United States citizens view military service.  The countries that have compulsory service (as I have noticed through my social interactions) have a much more positive attitude towards women serving and thus far appear to support them (through attitude) in their pursuits of motherhood duties.  Israel for example requires everyone to serve, but are more willing to permit women to pursue their duties of motherhood and other womanly needs than we are here in the US.  …. (This so far is at the attitudinal level and requires deeper more factual inquiry).  Men and women alike, are required to serve a minimum of two years’ service in the Israeli military.  After that they may stay longer, make a career out of it or leave to pursue other life goals.  This could be why women who decide to have children do not see the problems that our mothers in the US armed forces face when they decide to have children.

Another country that surprised me was Turkey.   They as well have compulsory service requirements, that if you do not serve by the time you are of age, you face imprisonment.  On man referenced in my conversation had lived in the US for tens of years, was pushing the maximum age of service and went back to Turkey to serve in their military to avoid being jailed for his lack of service to his country.   While our discussion involved a male, I do not yet know what Turkey’s requirements, if any, there are for females in the military.

Through my social interactions these last two weeks, I have been left with many questions that I look forward to delving into and aligning with CEDAW and the Beijing Platform.  I will have a rather long train ride to NYC next weekend to do some deeper, more focused research… and I am more than excited for that.  Here’s to Christmas Breaks celebrated with post research …. research!  Cheers!