Denmark Speeds Up Plans for Mandatory Military Service for Women

2 comments

1. > Denmark will start drafting women into its military from next year, accelerating planned reforms to boost the size of its armed forces and help counter increased threats from Russia.

   > Currently, women can join on a voluntary basis, while men are required to serve. Under the revised timeline, Denmark will extend compulsory military conscription to women a year earlier than originally planned, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said at a briefing in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

   > It comes after the government reached an agreement with a broad majority of parties in parliament.

   This is so messed up, & sets a horrible precedent.

   I hope the rest of Europe isn’t mental enough to follow suit.

2. I personally believe in full gender equality in this (and all other) areas. But a few facts to support the conversation:

   As of 2014 (the latest number I could find), 99,1% of people serving in the conscription programme were volunteers, not forced.

   So either way, it’s not going to be a huge number of people affected.

   The military itself has been asking for equality in the area. Their approach to preventing discrimination between genders of serving people has been to be essentially gender blind in daily operations including quartering. Yet, discrimination still happens. Women have to work harder to prove themselves. Senior members of the military (including women) call out the inherent inequality of the conscription programme as a source of this. Men are defined as doing their duty, women as volunteers. The way the system works, even men who volunteer, sign up for a longer commitment with no way to drop out early, whereas women volunteers can drop out early with no repercussions. People within the military say this is leading to women being faced of a narrative of “not being fully committed” leading to discrimination. The military is asking for equal service to counter this. (source: https://www.zetland.dk/historie/s8l4ZJVa-memE6kxK-1c45c in Danish, paywalled )

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