Denmark is planning to implement compulsory military service for women. Under this plan, women who currently volunteer for military service will be required to serve starting from 2026.
Denmark is planning to implement compulsory military service for women. Under this plan, women who currently volunteer for military service will be required to serve starting from 2026.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who unveiled the new plan on Wednesday, stated that this would ensure ‘complete gender equality’.
Additionally, the current four-month military service period will be extended to eleven months for both men and women. Last year, women constituted 25% of the 4,700 individuals who enlisted in the military in the country. Conscientious objectors who do not wish to serve in the military have the option of civil service.
Presently, Denmark’s military comprises 20,000 personnel, with 9,000 being professionals.
“We are rearming right now to avoid war”
Military expenditures across Europe have surged since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The Danish government intends to bolster its defense budget by $6 billion over the next five years, aiming to meet NATO’s defense spending objectives. Prime Minister Frederiksen clarified, “We are not rearming in Denmark because we want war, destruction, or suffering. We are rearming right now to avoid war and in a world where the international order is being challenged.”
Last year, the Danish parliament scrapped a spring holiday to show solidarity with defense spending.
Denmark, among the leading supporters of Ukraine, not only extends financial aid and advanced weaponry but also provides F-16 pilot training to Ukrainian pilots.