Women In The Military by Lilly Clausen
The National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service recently recommended to congress that women aged 18-26 should be included in mandatory drafting. In the age of gender equality and inclusivity, this is by no means an outrageous idea. However, given that my friends and I are of draftable age — we are understandably frightened by this possible revision.
Thus far, the draft has never affected me. Well, that’s a big claim. I have always worried that my big brother might be conscripted in the event of war, but I’ve never had to worry about it including me. And I recognize this is a rare privilege for all young women in America. But I think it is not simply the possibility of being conscripted that truly frightens young women like myself, but instead we are afraid of how we will be treated in the military.
After some research, I discovered just how bad the circumstances are for female soldiers. Currently, women make up about 17% of the enlisted military (BBC). The organization Protect Our Defenders found that 24.2% of all women in the military were sexually harassed. Even more shocking, 64% of women who report these offenses faced retaliation (Protect Our Defenders). Faced with these appalling and frightening statistics, my friends and I are scared of being forced to serve in this male-dominated environment. In my opinion, before the government can ask women to participate they must create real legislative change to protect us.
Like most issues involving gender, I think the root of this problem lies in the difference between equality and equity. Equality means treating everyone the same, which translated to this situation might encompass including both women and men in the mandatory draft. Yet I believe this strategy ignores the problems my friends and I fear. Equity, on the other hand, might entail — along with including women in the draft — establishing better policies and infrastructure to support and protect women in the military. I think young American women would feel supported and encouraged to participate if these reforms were enacted.
Perhaps the increase of women in the military as a result of this updated draft will overtime help improve its outdated culture. However, I think it should not be the responsibility of women to fix the failures of a predominantly male organization. Moreover, this is an ongoing and current problem, we cannot wait for a potential war in order to mend a severely misogynistic system — we need to act now and protect the women currently serving!
And I must note that my proposed policies/revisions would only address one minority in the armed forces. Other abused and neglected minorities like the LGBTQ+ community and people of color also face an abusive environment in the military. I hope that with this revision to the draft, perhaps we will consider the experience of all soldiers. If we want all citizens to be proud to serve their country in the event of war, America must protect and support every recruit.