Do we need to say this again?

Every few years, some bright (and not so bright) mind will have an epiphany (or what he, or she thinks is an epiphany) and suggests the revolutionary idea of NS for Women. Like it is an incredible and groundbreaking  idea. Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has put paid to the idea. 

"The minister pointed to how some had suggested, during the debate on the White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development, that women be enlisted for reasons of gender equality, in potential roles like nurses or teachers.
“Having reached this position of strength, should we for the sake of gender equality, now introduce NS for women?” he asked, highlighting how the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), despite reduced manpower, has remained operationally ready by using technology and optimising resources.
“I think there are distinct pitfalls if conscription is implemented for any other reason than the critical need of military defence, whether it is for men or women.”
The “primary reason” for enlistment must remain to train a soldier who is able to defend Singapore, and to repel if not defeat an enemy who wants to invade the country, Dr Ng said... 

“These are inadequate justifications or reasons to mandate that someone must suspend individual liberties as a civilian, give up two years of his or her life, and if they do not, they go to jail, as our courts have sentenced NS defaulters.”

Female recruits who will go on to become regulars at the Basic Military Training Centre on Pulau Tekong
on Feb 11, 2020. (Photo: CNA/Try Sutrisno Foo)

He goes on to state that there is no need to conscript women now. Yes, in times of emergencies, women, younger men (teenagers) and older men would be conscripted as was done in Ukraine. But we are not in that position today, and hope never to be.

Ho Kwon Ping mades a seductive argument for NS for Women in 2015. It is a slimy, slippery, seductive argument that starts by agreeing with all the constraints and considerations, and then proceeds to subtly undermine every one of the constraints he paid lip service to in the beginning.

And of course there is the usual, "Women don't have to do NS in the Military, they can do Nursing. We have a shortage of nurses."

We also have a shortage of F&B staff, but let's not digress.

And now we come to the usual, "women don't have to be soldiers. they can be nurses and care-givers as their national service."
Right.
You are a man. You have been conscripted. You hate National Service. Kill the enemy.
You are are woman. You have been conscripted to be a nurse. You HATE nursing. You can't stand the sight of blood. Please care for this elderly woman...

Your daughter has been conscripted to be a nurse. She hates nursing. But she does her NS as well as she can. Someone dies anyway. They try to blame her. She says it is not her fault - she did as she was taught...

Ya, but that is the same situation Men face. In training exercises sometimes people get hurt or even die. Yes. And there are training and safety protocols, and every accident or death is investigated, and safety recommendations made. How often do people die in hospitals? Sure, they are mostly unsuspicious. So if a NS girl looks after your ageing mother and your mother dies in unsuspicious circumstances, it is only natural causes. No way the NS girl who didn't want to be a nurse or is not trained to be a nurse, who just wants to be a dancer, could have done anything wrong that might have caused your mother's death. Right?

[From: http://heresthenews.blogspot.com/2015/02/national-service-for-women-time-to.html]

 We are not ideologues here (in Singapore). Fairness? Equality? Feminism? It is interesting that this issue is raised even as in the US, "Roe v Wade" is in danger of being overturned and women will lose their rights and freedom in the US. Yeah, sure, that's an issue in the US and nothing to do with Singapore. But I can't help but see the harmonics of the issue. 

Understand this:

NS is a necessary evil.

The conscription of men to serve in the military is a basic and base need - to defend the tribe, the home, the country, the nation. It requires men to do nasty things to other men. It requires sons and brothers, and fathers and husbands to kill other sons, and brothers, and fathers and husbands - to protect their home, their family, their way of life.
It is a necessary responsibility, and not one to be taken lightly. Nor to be shirked.

And it is for this reason that conscription for military service is seen as a necessity, especially when the pool of potential soldiers is small.
Yes, we conceal the nasty with concepts like duty, and honour, and loyalty, and esprit de corp. We glorify military service to make it more palatable, to participate in the autistic conspiracy that what is necessary is also good.
And yes, some good does come out of it. But that is because of the indomitable human spirit, that seeks to find a positive in the most demented situation.

Extending this necessary evil that has been necessarily inflicted on the men, onto the women is the sign of a deranged and immature mind.

It is a mind obsessed with naive and infantile notions of "fairness".

It is a mind stewed in paranoia, and the ideology of victimhood, and wishing to inflict the same suffering onto women.

It is a mind confused and enraged by misconstrued ideas about gender equality, and lashing out in retaliation.

It is a small mind, regardless of the intellectual capacity, lacking in compassion, empathy, and connection to women.

It is a sad mind that seems to think that the only way to alleviate its pain is to ensure others suffer as well. 

 

NS is a necessary evil. 

 

Conscription is a curtailment of one's freedom to choose. We accept that for drastic and critical need, such suspension of basic human rights is necessary. Like Military Defence (National Service).

But if one wishes to extend this suspension of human rights, this infringement of civil liberties, it has to be for a clear and present need. Conscripting girls today IN CASE we need to tomorrow is NOT a just cause. It is not a clear and present need.

 

Conscripting girls to be nurses, when it is possible and feasible to recruit from other countries, is unjustifiable. 

 

But this NS for Girls question and issue will rise again. Not because it is a pressing and critical issue, but because there are always small-minded, vicious, ideologues who will want to make a case for NS for girls.

They can dress their reason and logic any way they want, but deep down, they are basically women-haters. and they hate because they fear. 

 

What do they fear?

Sorry, I do not know. My instinct is to protect my wife, my mother, my sister, my daughter. Not force them to suffer. Or deprive them of their liberty. I therefore do not understand those who think their mother, sister, wife, or daughter, needs to learn "real-life" skills in NS.

The above from: https://singapore2b.blogspot.com/2015/03/same-old-saw-unnecessary-evil.html

Below is from: http://heresthenews.blogspot.com/2015/02/national-service-for-women-time-to.html

Conscription is an infringement of one's liberty. The reason why people do not like conscription is because it takes away a fundamental freedom or civil liberty - the freedom of choice. As such, the imposition of such violation of civil liberties CANNOT be frivolously made...

Similarly, NS for women MUST be justified by critical and dire need. Not contingent need. Not for inane, insipid reasons. If you are going to VIOLATE women's civil liberties it MUST be for good reasons, and no, because the men's rights have been sacrificed is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.