Denmark Introduces Female Conscription... Third in Europe
Prime Minister: "Rearming to Avoid War"
Countries with Female Conscription Include North Korea and About 10 Others Worldwide
Denmark has decided to implement a female conscription system, imposing military service obligations on women as well as men. This move is aimed at addressing the heightened security threat following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and promoting gender equality.
According to the American political media outlet Politico on the 13th (local time), Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced a defense reform plan at a press conference that day, which includes the introduction of female conscription and an extension of the service period. The plan primarily expands conscription to include women and increases the minimum service period to 11 months for both men and women.
Currently, in Denmark, men are required to enlist in the military at the age of 18 and serve for 4 months. However, not all men serve due to a surplus of volunteers, and conscripts are sometimes selected by lottery. Danish women can volunteer for military service, and currently, female soldiers make up about 25% of the total forces. The Danish military consists of 7,000 to 9,000 professional soldiers and conscripts undergoing basic military training during their mandatory service period.
Denmark plans to amend its conscription law by next year and increase the number of conscripts from the current 4,700 to 5,000 starting in 2026. Prime Minister Frederiksen stated that along with introducing female conscription, the service period will be extended to 11 months for both men and women. Frederiksen, who has led the amendment of the conscription law, is Denmark's second female prime minister since taking office in 2019. If Denmark introduces female conscription, it will become the third European country to do so, following Norway in 2015 and Sweden in 2017.
Currently, about ten countries have introduced female conscription, including Israel, Chad, Eritrea, C?te d'Ivoire, Myanmar, Benin, Bolivia, and Cuba. North Korea has implemented female conscription since 2015, requiring women taller than 142 cm to serve seven years of mandatory military service. Meanwhile, men serve between 10 to 13 years depending on their military branch.
At the press conference, Prime Minister Frederiksen emphasized, "The international order is being challenged," adding, "We are rearming not for war and destruction, but to avoid war." She also stated, "We are striving to achieve complete equality between men and women." Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen added, "We will not allow Russia to threaten us," explaining that while Russia is not currently a threat to Denmark, these measures are being taken proactively to prevent such a situation.
Denmark, a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 1949, spent about 1.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense last year. However, to meet the target of 2%, it plans to increase its defense budget to 5.4 billion euros (approximately 7.77 trillion won) over the next five years.
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