Teen girl files lawsuit for women to enlist in US Army draft at 18

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9 Shocking Women's Rights Milestones in History
9 Shocking Women's Rights Milestones in History



Even though the U.S. hasn't had a draft since 1973, 17-year-old Liz Kyle-LaBell is fighting for women to be required to sign up for the draft at age 18 -- just like men are.

Females aren't required to register for the draft through the Selective Service System after they turn 18, and Kyle-LaBell believes that the current policy "violates women's rights."


The New Jersey native -- who recently graduated high school -- tried to register for the military on the Selective Service website, but she was blocked from doing so as soon as she checked the box that indicated that she was a female.

Liz felt discriminated. She told Yahoo Parenting:

%shareLinks-quote="​I hadn't even entered my age yet when the website directed me to a page saying I couldn't register." type="quote" author="Liz Kyle-LaBell" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday="false%

Liz feels that women should be able to register for the draft if they want to. In an effort to fight for equality, Liz and her mom, Allison Kyle, decided to file a class-action lawsuit against the Selective Service System. Liz's mother filed the lawsuit on Liz's behalf since she is a minor and was unable to file it herself.

In the lawsuit, Liz boldly states, "With both males and females available for such roles today, the two sexes are now similarly situated for draft registration purposes, and there is no legitimate reason for the government to discriminate against the female class, so equal protection applies,"

Liz's goal with the suit is to overturn a 1981 Supreme Court decision that backed the rule stating that only men can register for the draft. Even though women today are allowed to be in combat, they still aren't allowed to register.



The suit was filed very recently, so a court date has yet to be set, but Liz's ultimate goal is to make the draft gender-neutral. "If women are allowed to fight in a war, we should be allowed to sign up for the draft," she says.

See the video below for a glimpse of what it's like to be a woman in basic training for the army:

Women in Basic Training
Women in Basic Training



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