From the ACLU, this is at Liberty.

I'm Emerson Sykes, a staff attorney here at the ACLU and your host.

In late 2012, the ACLU filed the lawsuit challenging the military's ban on women serving in combat.

Just weeks later, in early 2013, then Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta lifted the ban.

However, women's access to these roles remains unequal, and the litigation is ongoing.

Our guest today has been at the forefront of the fight

for equality within the military. We have with us, Honorada Baguadi, a former Marine Corps captain

and author of Unbecoming, a memoir of disobedience. She's a three-time ACLU client and founder of the

Service Women's Action Network, a lead plaintiff in the

Women in Combat lawsuit.

Her memoir details her experience as an Indian American bisexual woman in the Marines,

confronting a culture permeated by racism, misogyny, and sexual violence.

The memoir also tells the story of her activism in pursuit of reforming the military.

Anurata has received numerous awards for advocacy and now teaches yoga and meditation to veterans.

Anuradha, thanks very much for joining us in the studio.

Thank you for having us.

Thank you.

So your memoir begins with you as a young girl struggling to meet the expectations of your parents, who are both

highly accomplished economists from India, while also navigating life as a kid in New York City.

You thrived in the classroom and on the basketball court and attended prestigious schools like

Stuyvesant in Yale, but then your story takes an unpredictable turn. You decide to join the Marines.

So why did you decide to join the

...