Netherlands' military conscription to also include women from 2018

From next year military conscription in the Netherlands will also apply to women, if the Dutch government has its way. This is a purely symbolic measure for equal treatment as conscription was suspended in 1997, ANP reports.

Since 1997 every boy gets a letter at age 17 to say that he has reached conscription age, though the letter does not oblige him to join the military. From next year girls will also get that letter.

Up until now the Ministry of Defense excluded women from conscription as they were behind on the labor market. But according to Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, women and men now have about equal education and training levels and equal treatment outweighs balancing disadvantages.