A group of 14 female veterans yesterday completed a 5km march, which included a simulated chemical attack, during the second day of a five-day volunteer reservist training program in Taoyuan.
The 14, the first women ever to undergo reservist training in Taiwan, marched from Danan Forest Park (大湳森林公園) to Rueitai Park (瑞泰公園) in Taoyuan’s Bade District (八德) together with about two dozen male counterparts.
In a simulation of an enemy chemical attack during the march, the reservists were asked to drop to the ground, find cover and put on their gas masks.
Military spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) praised the male and female reservists for their willingness to spend five days in the military to freshen up their skills.
“Reservist training will help safeguard national security and demonstrate citizens’ willingness to protect their nation,” Sun said at the training session, which was open to the media.
In the past, reservist training was limited to men, because the military said it did not have sufficient capacity to accommodate both men and women.
Reservists had complained for decades that this was a form of gender discrimination, and the Ministry of National Defense responded in January by announcing that it would ask female reservists to volunteer for the same training as their male counterparts.
Male reservists cannot refuse to join such training, which takes place about four times within eight years after their discharge.
The Ministry of National Defense said it opened reservist training to female volunteers because all veterans, regardless of gender, should share the same responsibilities.
The 14 women are all discharged army personnel ranging in ranks from private first class to master sergeant, the ministry said.
They are undergoing the same training as their male counterparts, but have separate dormitories and bathrooms.
For their safety, the military has also assigned active-duty female officers as their supervisors, and a CCTV system is in place around their dormitories, the ministry said.
A military source said the five-day training program is being viewed as a trial run before the ministry makes a decision on whether to ask more female reservists to take part in future sessions.
At present, Taiwanese men are subject to compulsory military conscription, while women are not, but they can join the armed forces voluntarily to serve as soldiers and officers.
As of 2021, 8,915 women were listed as reservists.
The ministry said 220 female reservists have volunteered to undergo required reservist training this year.
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