Vindictus V. Viridian (viriditas) wrote in bw_owls, @ 2010-03-07 23:42:00 |
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Sunday 7 March 1943 To whom it may concern, I am writing in response to the WWN's question regarding whether women should also be allowed to join the wizarding forces. To give some background information about myself, I'm a former Auror and professional duellist, and currently the Duelling master at Hogwarts, though I only speak for myself in this letter; I've also taught most of the men in the conscription age bracket at some point in their education and have observed witches in supervised duels at the school's Duelling Club, which I co-head with Professor Galatea Merrythought, whom I'm sure has taught many of your listeners Defence Against the Dark Arts. As for the question, I'll say first that in general, I believe men and women have their own respective fields, all of which are important, in which they are meant to excel and dominate, whether by nature or training -- in the case of the war, that men are meant to fight while women are more suited for tasks such as Healing or, in the case of married women, looking after their families at home while the men are away. And how many women even want to join the armed forces as combatants anyway? Professor Merrythought's unsurpassed teaching in defence aside, any woman signing up would be seven years behind their male peers in formal duelling training -- this may not only endanger themselves, but also their fellow soldiers, and I should think most young ladies are aware of this and the risk in fighting on the front lines with so little experience and preparation, and therefore do not wish to fight; for those who don't know the risks, it is our responsibility to keep them safe from making uninformed, impulsive decisions. However, lest anyone think I have an overly simplistic view of things, I do know there are exceptions to this rule -- in my current and former lines of work, I've seen women who have excelled at duelling, arguments about propriety aside, and men who are utterly hopeless at it to the point where the only job they would be suited for in battle is as accidental human shields. I'm sure anyone who has worked with me before knows of my lack of regard for rules if they are in the way of winning, so as improper as this may be, I'd say that if allowing these particular women to fight if they wish to do so would help Britain win the war in any way -- and I think we must seize any advantage we can -- then it is our duty to our country to allow it. Vindictus V. Viridian Duelling Master Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry |