Pete Hegseth, the protection secretary, has abruptly banished the Pentagon’s Girls, Peace and Safety program as a part of his campaign in opposition to range and fairness – dismissing it as “woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative” regardless of it being a signature Donald Trump achievement from his first time period.
In a submit on X, Hegseth wrote: “This morning, I proudly ENDED the ‘Girls, Peace & Safety’ (WPS) program contained in the [Department of Defense]. WPS is one more woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops — distracting from our core job: WAR-FIGHTING.”
The protection secretary added this system was “pushed by feminists and left-wing activists”, claiming “Politicians fawn over it; troops HATE it.”
However the determination is elevating some eyebrows because the initiative was established throughout Trump’s first administration when he signed the Girls, Peace and Safety Act in 2017, making the USA the primary nation on the planet to codify standalone laws on the matter.
The Trump marketing campaign even courted girls voters by citing the initiative as one in all its prime accomplishments for girls on its web site.
Making an attempt to sq. this circle, Hegseth later claimed the Biden administration had “distorted & weaponized” the unique program. “Biden ruined EVERYTHING, together with ‘Girls, Peace & Safety,’” he insisted.
The Pentagon didn’t reply to a request for remark clarifying what is going to change on this iteration of the WPS following the secretary’s announcement. Hegseth had indicated the Pentagon would adjust to minimal necessities beneath federal statute however would foyer to defund this system through the subsequent finances cycle in his preliminary submit.
The protection secretary’s issues with this system may additionally create awkward rigidity with a number of Trump cupboard members who have been architects of the very coverage he’s now dismantling. Kristi Noem, the Homeland Safety secretary, wrote the 2017 laws whereas serving in Congress and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, co-sponsored the Senate model.
Rubio, simply this month, referred to as it “a invoice that I used to be very proud to have been a co-sponsor of after I was within the Senate”, on the state division’s worldwide girls of braveness awards ceremony.
Mike Waltz, the nationwide safety adviser, additionally supported different laws to strengthen the WPS and served as co-chair of the bipartisan Girls, Peace and Safety Caucus.
And first-daughter Ivanka Trump, again in 2019, additionally publicly promoted this system, writing on social media that “Immediately I used to be proud to announce, with feminine police cadets, that Colombia will develop a #WPS Nationwide Motion Plan as a part of our WPS partnership.”
The WPS program, which originated from a 2000 United Nations safety council decision, was first created to spice up girls’s participation in peace and safety planning and shield girls from violence in battle conditions.
Iterations of this system have since been broadly adopted globally as analysis has proven that peace agreements with girls’s participation are extra sturdy.
Supply hyperlink
