Challenges faced by women military officers in the South African National Defence Force: A case study of the Hoedspruit Air Force Base, Limpopo

Abstract

abstract The military has a deep-rooted masculine culture. One of the aspects of this masculinity, which is hegemonic in its cultural dominance, is the perspective on and perception of femininity. The masculine behaviour resents the weak; therefore, soldiers are trained not to complain or project any feminine traits, such as being caring and nurturing, or displaying ‘softness’). Soldiers need to be able to do without emotions like empathy or showing emotions of regret in order to be able to function appropriately as soldiers. Feminine attributes are looked upon as ‘weak’ or ‘soft’. For instance, attributes such as sensitivity and compassion are deemed to be in contrast to the military culture. This article aims to elucidate the challenges faced by women military officers in the South African National Defence Force in Limpopo Province. It does so by applying the liberal feminist theory. The researcher used feminist qualitative research methods and an exploratory research design, with snowball sampling used to identify 15 female officers for in-depth interviews (6 women) and a focus group discussion (9 women). Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that women military officers face challenges such as gendered discrimination, racial discrimination, vigorous basic military training, and exclusion from participation in decision making. There is still much need for improvement when it comes to addressing the challenges faced by women in the military.