This story is second in a three-part series covering aspects of the military draft and the effect on young adults.
As the number of women who voluntarily enlist in the armed services grows, so does the public debate about females and the draft.
The idea of beginning to draft women is an issue sparking debates for several decades. One of the major questions is whether it is an issue of gender discrimination to not require women to register for the selective service.
“If one group is subject to the draft and the other is not subject to the draft, then it is discrimination, but the question is whether it is an acceptable form of discrimination,” Virginia Sapiro, University of Wisconsin associate vice chancellor for teaching and learning, said.
In the past 20 years, more and more attention has been paid to the issue by legislators. In 1980, when President Carter asked Congress to resume mandatory registration for the draft, he also asked them to consider the issue of registering women as well. Congress agreed to reactivate registration but would not agree to register women.
This continued to be an issue over the years, arising from the fact that thousands of women each year voluntarily enlisted. According to About.com, the percentage of women in the U.S. military increased from 1.6 percent in 1973 to 10.8 percent in 1989. When enlisted, however, there are rules about what roles the women can actually fill.
According to the Selective Service System website, the Department of Defense has strict provisions about the role of women in warfare. Even if women were allowed to be drafted, leaders could not assign women to positions that involved close combat. Though there are many arguments that women do not have the same physical capabilities as men, female soldiers in the military are proving themselves worthy in the positions they do have.
“More and more, women are taking part as they are taking part in other aspects of life and they are proving themselves as worthy as men,” Sapiro said.
This interest and proven capability from women brings more and more people to believe women should be required to register for the selective service.
“I think a draft is an inappropriate thing,” Myra Ferree, UW sociology professor, said. “But if you have something like a draft, what would possibly be your reason for saying women don’t belong in it? Because women aren’t fit to be soldiers? Then why do we have them as soldiers?”
According to the website, if the Selective Service System was given enough money and resources, they would be capable of registering and drafting women. It is clearly not a matter of money as much as the problematic question of whether drafting women is the societal “right thing to do. ”
“I know my [female] students have said, I don’t want to go fight and I say, you think the guy sitting next to you does?” Ferree said. “If you have a draft there is no reason to say women as a category should not be subject to it.”
