Denmark female conscription: More European women face conscription to defend against Russia
Wia dis foto come from, Norwegian Defence MinistryWetin we call dis foto, Norway opened all combat roles to women for 1985, and become di first European country to conscript women 30 years laterArticle InformationFrom April 1, any woman from Denmark wey reach age 18 go follow go military assessment centre wia she go pick lottery number from drum.If number of military volunteers officers reduce, dem fit call up her number. Di lower di number be, di more likely say dem go recruit am into army. Denmark bin dey keep military service for men, but now dem wan add women.Na for 2024 dem make di decision to conscript women, two years afta Russia do full scale invasion of Ukraine, and na period wey Norway and Sweden dey take similar steps.For di past 10 years Denmark bin don get enof volunteers so dem no need to conscript anybody by force, but now dem want make more young pipo carry out military service, so dis fit change in years to come.Di opinion about conscription of young Danish women dey mixed."I no wan die. And I no want get PTSD. And also I dey fear for life for battlefield as a woman," na so Isabella tok. She go dey eligible for drafting in four years."I tink e dey nice say dem dey include us for work wey primarily na for men" na so 19 years old Sarah tok. She dey for military assessment centre wia she dey do volunteer for military service.Dis one don dey possible since 1998 and last year women make up one quarter of pipo wey complete military service.Gender-neutral armiesNorway wey be di first kontri for Europe to introduce gender neutral conscription bin base dia 2013 decision partly on di belief say all citizens suppose get equal rights and responsibilities.Sweden follow Norway for 2017 to conscript women. Dis na afta Russia don deal wit Crimea. For 2020 Netherlands pass law to conscript women as well as men though di process dey voluntary.Recently di Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) wey be places pipo believe Russia fit target next don begin debate weda to start female conscription.Wia dis foto come from, MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty ImagesWetin we call dis foto, Since 1998 women bin don dey able to volunteer for military service for Denmark."Di 2022 events wey Russia aggression on Ukraine matter don shift dis discussion," na so Eleri Lillemae wey be researcher for Estonia Military Academy. Dis na sometin wey nobody expect, I tink."Lativian defence minister Andris Spruds don dey push for female conscription to start for 2028. Plenti reasons dey for dis, na so e tok."Onto say we dey live next to aggressor kontri. Sake of say we need to strongly increase our comprehensive defence. We need to also ensure say our citizens get equal rights and responsibilities to secure di nation. Dat na why I support di gender neutral approach as a minister.Falling fertility rateBut number of young men to bring in for military service dey reduce, and dis na anoda problem.For kontri wey get less dan two million pipo evri child dey count. For Lativa fertility rate, di average number of children wey woman dey born na like 1.36. Dem require rate of 2.1 to make di population stable. Di same trend dey for oda Baltic nations wit rates like 1.31 and 1.18 in Estonia and Lithuania respectively.Female conscription for Baltic states dey inevitable unto some points according to Eleri Lillemae."Di problem go show around 2040 sake of say births for di past two to three years dey low and if we dey same security situation, na him be say we no go get enough pipo," na so e tok.She dey use di example of her own kontri Estonia. For now, Estonia dey conscript around 40% young men for eligible cohorts, dem dey select candidates wey dey physically fittest. If dem wan retain di same number of military conscripts, na im be say dem go need to conscript 90% of all boys by 2040."We go either expand di pool wia we dey from recruit or we go find oda ways," na wetin Lillemae.For Luthuania, di issue of female conscription na major topic pipo dey torchlight, but for Lativa di politicians dey divided.Like Finland, all three Baltic states get form of compulsory military service for men, while women fit choose to participate or not.Poland, wey dey border Russia enclave of Kaliningrad dey plan to reintroduce military training for all men from 2026, dem say women go fit volunteer tooUkraine exampleAccording to Eleri Lillemae, di war for Ukraine don show di importance to preparing women to fight. Di Ukrainian ministry of defence say more than 70,000 pipo dey serve for di armed forces, wia 5000 dey on di front line."Dem be di best to showcase how you need women for military service, how you need evribodi to contribute wen di kontri dey in very tough position," na wetin Lillemae tok.For Ukraine, even though dem get military manpower shortage, nobody don call for female conscription.Di war for Ukraine don show di important role Nato - Di North Atlantic Treaty Organization - play to defend Europe. Dem bin dey partly under pressure from US President Donald Trump, Nato members agree to increase defence spending for summit for di Hague dis summer.Wia dis foto come from, ReutersWetin we call dis foto, Nato has deployed extra troops to Eastern Europe since Russia's full-scale invasion of UkraineGermany dey currently debate proposal to introduce voluntary military service for 2026, France wan revamp her existing voluntary military service programme to add emphasis on training to fight.Public support for mandatory service dey different. Poll wey di European Council on Foreign Relations commission for May 2025, find majorities for France, Germany and Poland wey dey strongly support or tended to support di return of mandatory military service.Wen matter of mandatory conscription of women for Denmark opposition no tok, but Baltic states polls suggest say na small minority support di idea.E point out say Lativa dey much more slower dan Estonia and Lithuania to start to conscript men."For Lativa, na for 2023 dem introduce conscription, so e take some time.Safety for womenAnoda issue be infrastructure. Some army no get capacity to suddenly welcome plenti recruits. Dem need to build Barracks and need to train instructors.Dem need to purchase uniforms, and rucksacks sake of say di standard kits dem design for men no dey suitable for female body.And dem bring up questions dey ask weda military culture and life dey ok for women to join."We don get meetings wit di organization of Danish female veterans and according to dem e no dey easy to be woman for Danish military.Wia dis foto come from, ReutersWetin we call dis foto, Denmark defence minister don warn say Russia fit attack Nato kontri within five yearsSurvey wey Ministry of Defence for Denmark do for 2023 suggest say 20.3% of women for Danish military don experience unwanted sexual attention or harassment for di previous 12 months. Di ministry say dem go kontinu to eliminate abuse.On di oga side of di Baltic Sea, Andris Spruds dey confident say di Latvian military no be dangerous place for women - either for dose wey dey serve now as volunteer (18% of all military personnel) or for dose wey fit dey potentially conscripted for future."Yes, e dey inclusive," na so e tok. Na safe place right now inside di armed forces."For many wey Europe, issue of conscription and female conscription don suddenly become big matter. But still Eleri Lillemae dey tink say tins no dey waka as dem suppose."Denmark make very quick decision and dem act on am surprisingly quick," na so she tok. "But for oda kontris dem get a lot to tok but no option,"Dis na part of di Global Women series from di BBC World Service, dey share untold and important tori dem from around di world
