Conscription for women sparks debate: 'I'm not particularly fond of war and violence and having to go into nature'

The Danish Defense is in need of all the combat power it can mobilize. Therefore, more young women should be ready to join the ranks for their country.

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (V) announced this on Tuesday of this week. The full gender equality in the Defense Force will therefore come into effect earlier than planned.

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> - I think it's important that we break with the stereotypes about

> women not being able to perform military service.

> Defne Topcu, 16-year-old high school student

All women who turn 18 after July 1, 2025, will be called up for the Defense Force's Day, which was previously known as session. Here, it will be evaluated whether women are eligible for military service, and they will draw a lottery number.

If there are not enough volunteers who wish to serve, women can be called up for military service against their will – just like men are now.

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High school student: - It's an important step

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At the Egå Gymnasium, the prospect of female military service is causing a stir. Students Defne Topcu and Lucca Sandell will both turn 18 after July 1 of this year – and it is therefore certain that they will be called up for the Defense Force's Day.

Lucca Sandell will turn 18 in October, and she does not think it is "so great" to risk having to perform military service.

- I'm not very happy with war and violence and having to go out into nature, so I don't think it's something I have so much enthusiasm for.

It is especially the security policy situation that concerns her.

- I talked to my friends about it when the news came out. We were all very worried about the situation, and that we can risk having to perform military service in a time when there is war.

"It puts a little more pressure on us, that it's not just for fun, but that we actually potentially have to fight to defend Denmark. But if it is necessary, then we must take military service," says Defne Topcu.

16-year-old Defne Topcu has a completely different view.

- It's a really important step, because equality is not just about giving women a whole bunch of opportunities and rights. It's also about having an equal amount of responsibility, and military service also falls under that. She continues:

- I think it's important that we break with the stereotypes about women not being able to perform military service. It has been done in Israel for many years, so I think it's about time that Denmark also follows suit.

And it's not just at the Aarhus gymnasium that gender equality in the Defense Force is dividing the Danes.

You can see a selection of some of the SMS messages that DR has received on the subject:

The first female conscripts will perform military service in 2026.

In recent years, there have been masses of young people who have voluntarily wanted to perform military service. Since 2018, the voluntary rate has been over 99 percent, and from 2022, the voluntary rate has been 100 percent. In recent years, therefore, there has been no one who has been forced to perform military service against their will.

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More women are placing increased demands on the Defense Force

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The question is whether the Defense Force is ready to accept even more women than there are now?

- The Defense Force has a task in providing accommodation that is significantly better. They have not been very clear about the gender distribution that exists now. There is a general need to make the building mass more representative, says Esben Salling Larsen, military analyst at the Defense Academy.

He points to the fact that more women in the Defense Force are making demands on accommodation, uniforms and equipment, but that there can be good help to be found in the Nordic cooperation, which was established last year, which among other things deals with joint purchases of uniforms.

The Nordic cooperation can solve some of the problems that have been described by the current conscripts. We are entering into cooperation with countries that have much more experience with female conscripts, it sounds like.

He points to the fact that about a third of all conscripts in Norway are women.

- We have a unique opportunity to implement the experiences of others directly.

You can see more SMS messages that DR has received on female conscription here.

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Is it equality?

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At the Knowledge Center Kvinfo, there is no position on whether women should have military service or conscription rights, but overall, director Henriette Laursen believes that military service will contribute to more equality.

- It can help change the perception of women as someone who needs to be protected and taken care of, while men are the strong ones who protect and provide for the family. In this way, we move away from a stereotypical understanding of gender, both for men and women, so we look at competencies first and not gender, she says.

Some of the users who have contacted DR point out that women experience consequences for salary and pension when they go on maternity leave – and now we are asking for their strength, without ensuring future equal pay.

Henriette Laursen understands the position, but she does not think it is a misuse of the equality concept.

- I think it leads us in the direction of more equality, if we simultaneously with military service also achieve a more equal distribution of child care work at home.

- To continue to hold on to us in fixed roles does not solve the challenges with equal pay and inequality in child care work.

Is equality, that women should be able to do the same as men?

- No. But equality is, that perhaps to a greater extent we look at diversity, and that we strive to get more different competencies in, and that we look at the individual's competencies instead of thinking that we know something about a person based on their gender, she says.

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