THE British army is misusing feminist language in misleading pro-military messages that target girls and young women online, peace campaigners have said.

The warning came after the 4th Infantry Brigade held a series of events today aimed at 14- to 16-year-old-girls, supposedly promoting female empowerment.

Young women in the Peace Pledge Union (PPU) accused the army of patronising and insulting young women by projecting a misleading image of the of armed forces. 

“Militarism cannot be feminist and unquestioning obedience is not empowering,” they said.

The PPU also warned that the army have taken advantage of the fact that most young people are not in school during half-term by organising the Zoom events in the middle of the day. 

Nineteen-year-old PPU member Anya Nanning Ramamurthy said: “I’m appalled that the army is claiming to empower women. 

“The army is not a space where anyone is empowered. By its nature, the army is violent and abusive. 

“You are stripped of your rights, your personality and your self — not empowered. 

“This is yet another case of everyday militarism, with the army seeing young women as a vulnerable group who they can target.”

Aileen Charteris, a PPU member and the mother of a 15-year-old girl, said: “If the army were to start grooming my teenage daughter during a pandemic with the false idea that she can be treated as an equal in a highly sexist institution, I would be extremely worried. 

“Young people are being bombarded with the narrative that they will struggle to find work in the coming years. We need to focus on their confidence, let them know that they can still achieve their dreams despite the pandemic. 

“Luring them into signing their lives away under false pretences is vile.”