Well, I could have discussed about the Religion in general, but seems that things have taken an unexpected turn to somewhere else. This gender equality or inequality, I think it is overblown today. Too many people shout about it.
How many of the writers have actually served with women in army? I have. Putting women to the front lines is not really a good idea, but it is only partly related to endurance and strength. There are several other more compelling factors involved. And by front lines I mean the assaulting troops (well your basic grunt, though I wonder where does that term come from), not snipers or guerillas.
Besides I thought French resistance used women in their operations. Other field operations, like intelligence, supply or communications are a fair game. But please not to the front line. Or special forces. Airforce I'm not sure about, women might actually make physically better pilots, but then there are a couple of other things which I count as a downside.
Then again, during the years I have trained martial arts I have never seen a woman who could surpass man's strength or hardness if both trained as hard as possible. Even your typical family father has more muscular strength than highly athletic women. Then again, naturally bones of the men become more dense and more resistant to impacts. However, flexibility, balance, coordination and fluidity is where men usually have a lot more trouble.
True equality begins with acknowledging that genders have their differences, other being more suitable to certain task than the other. Only then you can learn to respect your significant others - and then you have equality.
For a woman or girl to be treated as a sexual object, rather than as a person whose body is her body, not someone else's "object of desire", is an unacceptable breach of her basic rights.
I acknowledge that mainly this is because of men's attitude, but women themselves are not completely innocent about this either.
Mika