Female Veterans Stand Up For Right To March
If you attended a dawn service or are watching an ANZAC Day Parade today, chances are you’ll see lots of people wearing service medals. But what you might not know is that those who wear their medals on the left are veterans who have personally earned the medals that they wear. Those wearing medals on the right, are usually family members or descendants wearing them on behalf of veterans.
Whether they are displayed on the right or left, service medals are a source of great pride for those who wear them. However, for female veterans, wearing their medals at ANZAC commemorations can be fraught with feelings of frustration. Due to slow-changing perceptions of who can be a veteran, they are routinely questioned about why they aren’t wearing their medals on the right. The feeling that their service is being questioned has resulted in female veterans choosing not to participate at ANZAC Day commemorations in previous years.
To combat this, the By the Left campaign is encouraging Australians to shift their perception of who can be a veteran. The campaign encourages Australians to thank all veterans for their service this ANZAC Day.
Leading the campaign is Army veteran, Kellie Dadds who joined us on The Daily.
