Army Officer Becomes Miss USA 2016

Army Officer Becomes Miss USA 2016; Is the Nigerian Military Discouraging More Females From Joining the Army?

Today, history was made when Miss District of Columbia, Deshauna Barber, emerged the winner of this year’s Miss USA 2016.

According to CNN, Barber is also an Army Reserve officer and IT analyst, and during her Q&A, the beauty queen whose father served in the military, gave a strong defence for women in combat roles in the military.

“As a woman in the United States Army, I think it was an amazing job by our government to allow women to integrate into every branch of the military,” Barber responded to a question on the Pentagon’s decision to open up all combat roles to women.

“We are just as tough as men. As a commander of my unit, I’m powerful, I am dedicated and it is important that we recognize that gender does not limit us in the United States,” Barber added.

Her winning is currently a trending topic in the United States, but it also brings us back home to Nigeria. How enabling is the Nigerian Military for women?

In March, a shocking video of a female cadet tortured by male officers at the Nigerian Defence Academy emerged.

From the clip, the female officer was put through nerve-wringing torture by men who ridiculed her and mocked her family, her sex life, and even made threats of physical harm.

The video sparked outrage on social media on how Nigeria’s military institutions rank of sexism, and many people agree it is what discourages a lot of women from joining the force.

See some of the reactions:

And so, if our security institutions are unsafe women, then the possibility of having Nigeria’s Deshauna Barbers and by extension, women empowered to command their units, is probably nonexistent.