The Special Operations Executive in World War Two is a prime example of how women were used in roles that they were not supposed to be in. They went through the same training as the early SAS and reached a much higher standard of training than the average male. A good example was Violette Szabo who joined SOE after her husband was killed in Egypt fighting Rommel. She was the best shot in the whole of SOE both men and women. She was selected even though she had two brothers both serving soldiers who weren't able to meet the criteria that she did. She was executed with two other female agents towards the end of the war at Ravensbruck concentration camp.
As for women in the Special Forces I agree with Tom if they can pass the training then if they want to they should do it.
Maureen