In the Dutch system, every boy receives a letter at the age of 17 that tells him that he is enrolled in the military dienstplicht (conscription), though this is not compulsory. Only in case of war, they will be drafted. So the boy does not have to follow actual military training. However, so far only boys received this letter. What about girls? Is that discrimination? The Dutch have made their decision.

Could this be a woman in the future?

In the 1996, when the dienstplicht was not removed, but opgeschort (suspended), there was also a debate about introducing the dienstplicht voor vrouwen (conscription for women). In the end, it was not introduced, as women could take care of the children when the men were fighting in the war.

Feminists claimed that women should also receive such letters. The argument that women are not physically strong enough can be dismissed, because the leger (army) has enough positions that require rather brains than muscles. And even so, since the dienstplicht is not compulsory, including women in the dienstplicht would be rather symbolic anyways.

And so minister van defensie (Minister of Defense) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said she will change the law on dienstplicht to also include women. So now, girls will also receive a letter at the age of 17, calling them to the cause!

With that decision, the Netherlands became the first country in the European Union to introduce the dienstplicht voor vrouwen. Other than the symbolism, though, is it really necessary?

The Dutch military counts nearly 40,000 men, and merely 4,000 women. So there is still quite a difference. Furthermore, geavanceerde wapensystemen (advanced weapon systems) require less manpower, and so fewer soldaten (soldiers) are required in the army. Also, most of the work of the military nowadays consists of specialized military tasks, which can be conducted best by beroepssoldaten (professional soldier).

What do you think about the dienstplicht? Should women also be drafted? Should it be abandoned altogether? Leave a comment below. It would be super cool if you could make a comment in Dutch. To help you, here is a list of some useful vocabulary!