SANDF morals 'deteriorate'

2003-07-10 22:22

Erika Gibson

Pretoria - The morals and morale of officers and soldiers in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have been deteriorating steadily, says retired colonel Monica Muller, former director of women in the SANDF.

She has conducted intensive research into the operational deployment of female soldiers.

"In the case of the court case in which (Major Ria) Vivier is involved, I have come to the conclusion that the real culprits who are responsible for this state of affairs are not standing in the dock.

"The first link is the selection process (of soldiers), followed by training, promotion and appointments. How selective is the process by which South African peace keeping soldiers are selected to make sure that they can act as ambassadors of the country?"

Muller explains that married female soldiers, whose husbands were also in the operational zone, were favoured during the former bush war.

Other women were placed in groups, where possible, with strict policy regulations that they were entitled to separate (and private) living quarters.

"Senior female officers regularly visited these women to ensure that strict discipline was maintained."

She believes the gender equality policy, which is enforced by the SANDF at present, does not take the physical differences between men and women into account.

This equality should not mean that women must be treated the same as men at all times, she says.

"Men get away with murder, but when a woman transgresses, she is lynched. In the past, women who made mistakes were easily dismissed, while the men who committed the same offence were transferred."

Muller says there are many examples where a woman's character was assassinated to make sure that she would not be considered for promotion.

"In any disciplinary process, one has to make sure that such a motive is not present. Too many women in uniform have become the victims of their own success."

- Beeld