Serious questioning has erupted over the issue of women being allowed on the front lines. Does this advancement in women's equality erase the line of God's divine order for males and females?

Executive Director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty Ron Crews believes that this is not a matter of courage, desire or ability. "God created inside of man the honor to protect the women around them. Men in combat will have that innately inside of them. This will cause a distraction in combat," Crews told The Christian Post on Wednesday.

The recent announcement from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the ban on women fighting on the front lines would be lifted by 2016 has sparked pensive thinking regarding the blurred roles of men and women in combat. more >>

A Pentecostal woman in Texas has won a $25,000 settlement against fast-food chain Burger King after she was fired for wearing a skirt to work in August 2010 and refusing to change her clothes.

"For 2013 and 2014, defendant agrees to conduct an annual training session for all district managers and general managers for defendant's Texas Burger King restaurants, advising them of the requirements and prohibitions of the federal anti-discrimination laws with a special emphasis on religious discrimination," the nine-page consent decree shared by Courthouse News Service reads. "The training will also inform these individuals of the necessity of attempting to accommodate the religious beliefs of applicants and employees."

Burger King will now have to pay $25,000 to Ashanti McShan, who was 17 years of age when she was let go by the fast food restaurant for wanting to wear a skirt to work for religious reasons. Five thousand dollars of that money will be paid for back wages, while another $20,000 will be paid for mental anguish and non-wage damages. more >>

If all of President Barack Obama's cabinet appointees are confirmed, the most prestigious cabinet posts will all be filled by men. This has renewed an old debate, mostly among liberals, over diversity in the executive branch and Obama's apparent preference for male advisers.

With the appointments of Chuck Hagel for defense secretary, John Kerry for secretary of state, and Jack Lew for treasury secretary, the most top cabinet positions will be held by men, if they are confirmed. (Attorney General Eric Holder is not yet retiring from that position.)

The debate was also sparked by a New York Times story last week in which the paper posted a White House photo on its front page of Obama in the Oval Office surrounded by men. The photo, taken on Dec. 29 by a White House photographer and posted to the White House flickr account, shows Obama with 10 men as they discuss what to do about the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett is the only woman in the room, but with one of the men standing in front of her, her leg is the only part of her visible in the photo. more >>

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a speech on Thursday at Dublin City University in Ireland that she is "greatly pained" to see the treatment of women around the world, as she gets ready to step down from her position.

"As the mother of a daughter, and as someone who believes strongly in the right of every person, male and female, to have the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential," Clinton said at the event. "It pains me so greatly when I travel to places around the world and am received almost as an exception to the rule, where the male leaders meet with me because I am the secretary of state of the United States, overlooking the fact that I also happen to be a woman."

At the event, Clinton was presented with an humanitarian award from the non-governmental organization Concern Worldwide. more >>

Only 10 days after rejecting a proposal to accept female bishops, the Church of England has already started taking steps toward a new initiative at its governing General Synod to get the issue up for another vote.

A 19-member archbishops' council said that a meeting next month will "put in place a clear process for discussions in the new year with a view to bringing legislative proposals before the Synod in July."

Bishops have described the issue "as a matter of urgency," and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron has urged the church to "get on with it" after expressing his disappointment at the failed vote on Nov. 20. Cameron has said that the church should resolve the matter on its own, but The Associated Press noted that some lawmakers have suggested that they might abolish the Church of England's exemption status if it is deemed guilty of gender discrimination. more >>

"We just want our husbands to care for us; when we visit the doctor, we just want respect."

The women in Epworth, an informal township outside Harare, Zimbabwe, had gathered at a church hall to tell their stories. They simply pleaded to be appreciated. The women have few choices because they are poor, but they want their daughters to have a different experience – to marry later, to decide when to have children and to know their views will be valued. Their dreams are not radical!

Women are half the world's population, but they do not have half the share of wealth, well-being and decision-making. In fact, women own around 1% of the world's wealth. Women work hard but are more likely to be unpaid especially in the developing world – they do domestic tasks, they do weeding and gardening, they collect water and look after children. Women do not have an equal voice in expression – only a quarter of the voices you will hear and read in the news today are women's. more >>