I had a chuckle over the newspaper story about the MoD planning to recruit female Gurkhas from 2009. Apparently they fear an equality suit from Nepalese women unless they agree to let them enlist. I am not convinced recruiting women to fight wars is a fundamental step forward for feminism (in the same way fighting for the right to send your sons down coal mines has always perplexed me). But each to their own.
As a child, the tomboy in me wanted to join the French Foreign Legion when I grew up. I loved the idea of turning up at the gates of the FL barracks in Paris and whispering conspiratorially to the man on sentry duty that I wanted to be let in. I would then be whisked away to be fitted with a white kepi, issued my leather apron, red blanket and axe and taught to march at 88 steps per minute. OK, the pay is not great; not even 1,000 euros a month for a foot legionnaire, but I figured I could go without in return for some twiddly fringed epaulettes. Besides it seemed impossibly romantic - and attractive - that your own mum could turn up at the gate begging to know if you had enlisted and were off to fight for France and, if you didn't want her to know you were there, she wouldn't be told. This was before I became a mother myself. Beau Geste has a lot to answer for.
The Gurkha story reminded me of an announcement some years ago by the French Ministry of Defence that to conform to European equality laws the Foreign Legion would be accepting women recruits. Had I still been a young tomboy this would have been joy unconfined; as it was I realised I couldn't join even if I wanted to having passed the recruitment age. Nevertheless, I thought it might be a wheeze to try, so I phoned up the Legion HQ to ask when women were being drafted.
The commander on the other end of the phone sounded like he was being choked by his waxed moustache when I posed the question.
"Madame. There will never be women in the Foreign Legion," he spluttered.
"But the French government has said...
"Madame. There will never be women in the Foreign Legion."
"Do you mean I cannot join?"
Splutter. "Madame. I can assure you, whatever the French government has told you, there will never be women in the Foreign Legion.
"Well there is this new law that...
"Madame. Do you hear me? Women. Foreign Legion. Never. Ever. Ever."
I'll take that as a no then.
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7 comments:
You did not get it right : there will never be women in the FL, unless they bear beards as you march on July 14th...
Anyway, why do you think their flags fly "legio patria nostra" ?
I wonder if they take Foreigners in the Foreign Legion. If not, could I get them under the Trades Descriptions Act?
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I always wanted to join the Girl Guides but failed the medical....
Great story! What if you were a lesbian?? Would that make it better or worse??
A lot worse in America, nay impossible, but on 13 Oct British army chief General General Sir Richard Dannatt said homosexuals were 'welcome to enlist', & the ban was lifted in 2000 after going to the European court of Human Rights. Wonder what they have to say about the FL?
You could always become a member of Lords now as a woman, & sit in the pavilion, but I guess that's really scraping the barrel....
many years ago, i wanted to join a bagpipe band here in NYC. my father is a piper, and i'd taken lessons. i approached the pipe major and asked about joining and he told me, "there will never be women in pipe bands. they're naethin' but trouble!"
he was wrong too. now, if it weren't for women, most pipe bands wouldn't exist.
i am sure once the older generation passes away (like the israelites with their 40 years in the desert), women will be in the FFL... why they'd want to, i don't know, but they will be there.
That sounds so typical of the French attitude to most legislation (especially European). Happy to sign up, and equally happy to ignore it. And I'm not complaining! (Saves paying a small army of town hall jobsworths for a start!)
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