While the press had headlined "Bye bye Abaya" and lead-ins state that "Military Women Shed the Abaya" it appears that they were all wet! The issue had not been resolved, the wording in the "policy" was at best obtuse, but the legislation is finally here. (Also see background information below.)
The latest developments-
FINALLY!! - With the Defense Authorization Act signed into law by President Bush the following provision applies:
SEC. 563. WEAR OF ABAYAS BY FEMALE MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES IN SAUDI ARABIA.
(a) PROHIBITION RELATING TO WEAR OF ABAYAS- No member of the Armed Forces having authority over a member of the Armed Forces and no officer or employee of the United States having authority over a member of the Armed Forces may require or encourage that member to wear the abaya garment or any part of the abaya garment while the member is in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pursuant to a permanent change of station or orders for temporary duty.
(b) INSTRUCTION- (1) The Secretary of Defense shall provide each female member of the Armed Forces ordered to a permanent change of station or temporary duty in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with instruction regarding the prohibition in subsection (a). Such instruction shall be provided immediately upon or not more than 48 hours prior to the arrival of the member at a United States military installation within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The instruction shall be presented orally and in writing. The written instruction shall include the full text of this section.
(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall act through the Commander in Chief, United States Central Command and Joint Task Force Southwest Asia, and the commanders of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps components of the United States Central Command and Joint Task Force Southwest Asia.
(c) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR PROCUREMENT OF ABAYAS- Funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense may not be used to procure abayas for regular or routine issuance to members of the Armed Forces serving in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or for any personnel of contractors accompanying the Armed Forces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the performance of contracts entered into by the United States with such contractors.
Background:
It all started when Lt Col Martha McSally, a veteran Air Force combat pilot filed suit against the DOD. Here is a brief excerpt from the Rutherford Institute:
McSally v. Secretary of Defense
In December 2001, The Rutherford Institute filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Lt. Col. Martha McSally, the U.S. Air Force's highest-ranking female fighter pilot. The lawsuit challenged a U.S. military policy that forces McSally and other servicewomen stationed in Saudi Arabia to wear the traditional Muslim abaya, a black head-to-toe robe worn in certain Muslim cultures and perceived as a sign of subordination to men. The Rutherford Institute believes the policy is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and an affront to McSally's Christian faith.
In addition to having to wear the abaya when off base, the policy also requires servicewomen to ride in the back of military vehicles and forbids them from going off base unaccompanied by males. Neither the U.S. State Department nor the government of Saudi Arabia requires American service members to wear traditional Muslim attire for any reason. In fact, the Saudis do not require non-Muslim women to wear the abaya at all. And male service personnel in Saudi Arabia are actually prohibited from wearing traditional Muslim clothing while off base.
Lt Col McSally
In May 2002 the Rutherford Institute released the following:
House of Representatives Votes Unanimously to Abolish U.S. Military Policy Requiring Servicewomen in Saudi Arabia to Wear Muslim Garb
WASHINGTON, D.C.--The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of a bill that would prohibit the Pentagon from requiring or even formally urging servicewomen stationed in Saudi Arabia to wear the Muslim abaya, a black head-to-toe robe worn in certain Muslim cultures and perceived as a sign of subordination to men. "Christians like Lt. Col. Martha McSally should not be forced to wear a Muslim outfit, especially when off-duty and on their own time, " Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.) said during the House debate. Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), a seven-year Air Force veteran and co-sponsor of the bill, added. "The sad thing is that this bill is needed at all. This policy should never have been put in place." Meanwhile, attorneys for The Rutherford Institute continue to challenge the Defense Department's attempt to dismiss Lt. Col. Martha McSally's lawsuit. McSally, a decorated pilot with the U.S. Air Force, filed suit in December 2001 to overturn the abaya policy, as well as other regulations requiring that a woman be accompanied by a man when off base and sit in the rear seat of any vehicle containing more than two passengers. McSally claims the policy violates her constitutional rights to equal protection and the freedoms of religion and speech.
In filing its motion to dismiss McSally's lawsuit, the Department of Defense claims to have resolved the issue by changing the policy's language from "mandatory" to "strongly encouraged." But attorneys for The Rutherford Institute say that language still presents concerns about coercion of female military service personnel. Institute attorneys are also charging the Pentagon with retaliatory treatment toward McSally as a result of her opposition to these discriminatory policies. After she challenged the policies, Lt. Col. McSally's performance review was unfavorable for the first time in her military career, and her superiors refused to recommend her for a command position. Furthermore, Institute attorneys point out that the U.S. government continues to purchase and issue Muslim garb for American servicewomen, a clear violation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.
"Now that the unanimous voice of the people, through their elected Congressional representatives, has been heard on this issue, it has become even more clear that the abaya policy is a violation of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution" said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute.
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
Lt Col McSally on 60 Minutes
The Department of Defense wanted to say that changing the wording from "required to wear" to "highly encouraged to wear" gives women a choice. Now isn't that special? Gives military women a choice to get a lousy rating if they don't follow the "highly encouraged" line? Gives women a choice to jeopardize their careers by not conforming? Oh, and by the way, abaya or not , they're still in the "back of the bus" (rear seat of any vehicle) and not allowed to drive or go out without a man along.
American military women have volunteered to serve their country around the world and while doing so should not be relegated to second class citizenship. They are Americans here and abroad - not subjects of another country. They should not be subjected to the subservient roles and demeaning customs of the very nations they are there to protect.
Millions of women have served, voluntarily. They have been prisoners, been wounded, and several have given their lives.
None should have to have endured the denigration of their dignity.
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