During the 1980s in Australia, new laws said that women must be given equal opportunities with men in the workplace. The defence forces therefore had to examine the fact that their female members were forbidden to do certain things, such as fly fighter aircraft, or fight directly in wars (be involved in combat). In an unusual move, the defence forces asked servicewomen whether they wanted to be able to have the same opportunity as men to be in combat. The answer was definitely yes, and from 1990 such restrictions were removed. The first women to have combat-related positions served in the Gulf War in 1991.