Female soldiers told to run in long pants for sweltering Jerusalem race, male soldiers wore shorts

Female soldiers who participated in the Jerusalem five-kilometer run were told they needed to wear long pants, while the male soldiers were not given such an order, Channel 12 reports.

The run was held under the umbrella of the Jerusalem Marathon — organizers decided that due to a forecast of a heatwave and high air pollution, the day’s events would not include a full marathon.

“They didn’t even think to be indignant and complain about being required to run in long clothes,” the mother of one of the female soldiers tells Channel 12.

“Unfortunately, in the current reality, it is taken for granted that their rights are different from those of the male soldiers – ostensibly for reasons of modesty,” she says.

According to Haaretz, the Israel Defense Forces claimed that “there is no difference between male and female soldiers in the required dress code,” and that if “any discrimination was committed in enforcing the procedures, the matter will be investigated.”

The incident came amid renewed criticism of religious coercion in the armed forces.

Last week the IDF court-martialed female soldiers and docked a third of their salaries for wearing purportedly revealing clothes to base when they arrived to be discharged.

Also last week, four Border Police combat medics were jailed after they were accused of “harming religion and Judaism” by barbecuing in a non-populated part of a base during the Jewish Sabbath.