On International Women’s Day, we look at the ongoing global struggle for gender equality and equal rights within the US military. Specialist Mickiela Montoya came face to face with the dangers of rape by her male comrades when she was deployed to Iraq with the National Guard. Eli Painted Crow served in the Army for 22 years including time in Iraq in 2004, facing challenges both as a woman and a Native American. And Columbia professor Helen Benedict is author of a forthcoming book about women veterans of the Iraq war. [includes rush transcript]

Today is March 8th, International Women’s Day. Millions around the world are marking the day by celebrating advances made by women and to honor the ongoing global struggle for gender equality and equal rights. One of those struggles is taking place within the US military.

In the United States, there are more women serving in the Armed Forces than in any other period in American history. More than one hundred sixty thousand female US soldiers have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East since 2003, which means one in seven soldiers is a woman. At least four hundred fifty women have been wounded in Iraq, and seventy one have died -- more female casualties and deaths than in the Korean, Vietnam and first Gulf Wars combined.

With the increased number of women serving in the US military, something else is on the rise too: rape and sexual assault by their male comrades. To make matters worse, female soldiers say they can’t trust the US military to protect them.

• Helen Benedict. Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She is author of three books on sexual assault, including “Recovery: How to Survive Sexual Assault,” and “Virgin or Vamp: How the Press Covers Sex Crimes.” She currently working on a book about women veterans of the Iraq war. Her latest article, on Salon.com, is “The private war of women soldiers.”
• Spc. Mickiela Montoya. She came face to face with the dangers of rape by her male comrades when she was deployed to Iraq with the National Guard in 2005.
• Eli Painted Crow. She served 22 years in the Army retiring at the rank of sergeant. In 2004 she served in Iraq and Kuwait. She is member of the Yaqui Nation in Tucson, Arizona.