Women and the Proposed Draft

By Kerrigan Stern

On June 14, the Senate voted 85 to 13 to pass a defense authorization bill that would require women to register for Selective Service if a draft is deemed necessary for our country. This would apply to women turning 18 in 2018 or later. The same requirements and rules to sign up for the draft, such as being under the age of 25 and currently living in the United States, would apply to women as they do for men. This bill is not yet a law as the House of Representatives must see it fit to pass.

The last time a draft was used in our country was for the Vietnam War. There was much resistance among male citizens, however. College students, who were eligible for Selective Service, began to protest the war that they thought was unjust. They were especially concerned as graduation that would make them eligible for the draft once they left school. These men also burned draft cards to defy the Selective Service system. Draft evasion and draft resistance, reached its historic peak during the Vietnam War and nearly crippled the Selective Service system.

Since the Selective Service process was established, there have been several arguments about its fairness. One of the major arguments against it has to do with how if eligible citizens move and do not report it. Unreported moves can impede future, accurate conscription. This begs the question if the Selective Service system is truly selective. Several other arguments towards the system have been made, including about the nature of deferments and the bar to obtain such things.

Liberal activists are typically against having women also enter the draft. A Care2 petition, which has obtained nearly 14,000 signatures, is circulating in hopes of ending the draft, period. The leaders of the petition are mostly against the draft as an entity rather than who is conscripted into it, however. The petition’s author Julie Mastrine wrote, “While this is unfair and sexist — women should be allowed to serve in combat roles just as men are — it is immoral to force people to go to war, no matter their sex.”

Although this bill would require women to enter the draft, it has taken several years to give women full rights to enlist voluntarily in all positions. The first time women were allowed to enlist in the military was during World War I. They were not allowed to fight in the war, however. They served as nurses, clerks and telephone operators. Their roles expanded in World War II. They were allowed to work with mechanics as well as to become drivers, pilots and even soldiers. They were prohibited from traveling overseas, however, so that they could free more men up to fight in different countries.

Women have struggled to acquire frontline battle positions in the military as well. They were not allowed to serve in combat roles on the ground until the January 24, 2013. Not all positions were open to women after this, still. Women had to wait for infantry, armor, reconnaissance and special operations units to become open for women on December 3, 2015. Two hunred and two thousand new jobs became available then, while in 2016 marked the first full year that women were able to enlist in full combat roles.

This bill forcing women to enter the Selective Service system is a step towards equality on the battlefield between both genders. Before now, only men were deemed fit to serve in our nation’s wars. This bill has positive benefits for both genders. If a draft were implemented again in a time of crisis, there is a much lower chance for someone to be selected to serve in the military because there would be a much greater proportion of citizens to be chosen. This means that, if they do not want to serve, both men and women will have a very small chance of putting their lives in danger while they fight for our country.

However, there are also downsides. One would involve the increase in the death of women enlisted in the military. Before now, women did not die in combat very often because they were not forced to enter the draft. With women in the draft, however, that might change. This will eliminate their chance of their reproduction of more citizens in our country, although men would be required for this to happen as well. Other activists have argued that before women enter into the draft, that the military needs to work hard to improve the way it handles sexual harassment and rape cases against female officers. They argue that until the military is a safer place for women, that women should not be conscripted into it.

Even though there are some downsides, this bill has the potential to be positive and influential. We are making a significant step in our country to provide greater equality between genders, whether it be in the military or in everyday life.

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