Equal Citizens, Equal Responsibility

Following the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3, 2020, a wide swath of Americans expressed fears over the draft’s potential reinstatement in the case of a war against Iran. A darkly humorous aspect of the situation emerged in satirical memes posted by women claiming that they should not be included in the draft for the sake of traditional gender roles. For instance, a tweet by Twitter user @quenblackwell sarcastically reads: “Call me old-fashioned but yes, I was raised to serve my husband. Cook for him. Do the laundry. Wake up at the crack of dawn to make him breakfast, prepare his clothes and clean the house.”

However, the issue of women in the draft reared its ugly head in a more influential way nearly a year prior. In February 2019, Judge Gray H. Miller of Federal District Court in the Southern District of Texas ruled that excluding women from the draft was unconstitutional in a case brought by the men’s rights group National Coalition for Men. Miller’s ruling stated that the Military Selective Service Act discriminated on the basis of gender and thereby defied the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

In his decision, Judge Miller explained that the previous Supreme Court ruling that women could be excluded from the draft was decided in 1981, when women were not yet permitted to serve in combat. However, since the Pentagon overturned service restrictions for women in 2015, Miller said, “men and women are now ‘similarly situated for purposes of a draft or registration for a draft.’”

Judge Miller issued a declaratory ruling, which means that the government is not required to comply with the ruling, and it does not immediately affect women or Selective Service. However, Miller’s decision may influence Congress. Currently, the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service is considering altering the Selective Service system and its requirements for women. It is expected to release a report on the issue in March 2020, complete with recommendations to Congress.

In our current powder keg of a political situation, it seems inevitable that war will break out in our lifetimes. However, this does not mean that only men should be drafted. As NPR’s paraphrase of University of Minnesota law professor Jill Hasday put it, “excluding women from the draft is a clear case of sex discrimination.”

It is unfair that we expect men to shoulder the full responsibility of war. As equal citizens, women bear an equal responsibility to assume the burden of defense. If we claim rights at home, then we must also claim responsibility abroad.

Many of the traditional arguments against women in the draft, including their position as mothers in society and the need to maintain households, ignore the fact that men have an equal space in these areas. They serve as fathers and also contribute to making a happy home. Why should only men enroll in a potentially life-threatening draft?

According to NPR, former marine and Iraqi war veteran Jude Eden believes that women should not be included in the draft because they are statistically injured far more than men are, meaning that their service would result in more casualties across the board. However, Eden is ignoring the standards set for military service. If women meet these standards, why wouldn’t their bodies be fit for combat?

A final, more radical viewpoint is to simply end the selective service requirement. While I wish we could abandon the draft altogether, it seems to be a necessary part of combat. In modern warfare, there just aren’t enough volunteer troops to go around. So if we’re stuck with it, why shouldn’t women be part of the draft?

Don’t get me wrong - I do not want to be drafted. Standing at just 5’1” and burdened with a heart condition, I would be an absolutely terrible candidate for military service. Nonetheless, the inequality of gender roles remains problematic. It would be unjust to watch my male friends, coworkers, and family members march off to war while I remained secure in the protection of my sex.