Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks during a news conference about strengthening the country’s Armed Forces by making conscription mandatory for women. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE WATCH STAFF
Denmark has become the third NATO member to propose drafting women into the military as part of their national service obligation, joining Norway and Sweden in the gender-equity effort. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced the policy change, which also includes lengthening the mandatory military service from four to 11 months as threats to the international rules-based order have deepened since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “We do not rearm because we want war. We are rearming because we want to avoid it,” Frederiksen said at a March 20 news conference in Copenhagen, according to The Associated Press (AP). She said the government wants “full equality between the sexes.”
Denmark, a founding member of NATO, has up to 9,000 professional troops on top of the 4,700 conscripts undergoing basic training, according to the AP. The government wants to increase the number of conscripts by 300 to reach a total of 5,000. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the policy change, which still has to be approved by the Nordic country’s parliament, isn’t out of an imminent fear of an aggressive Russia under President Vladimir Putin. Rather, he said, “Russia does not pose a threat to Denmark. … But we will not bring ourselves to a place where they could come to do that,” according to the AP.
All physically fit men over the age of 18 are called up for military service, which lasts roughly four months. However, enough volunteers mean not all young men serve. In 2023, there were 4,717 conscripts in Denmark and women volunteered to fill 25% of the spaces. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the new system would require a change in the law and take effect in 2026, according to the AP.
Political parties still must negotiate the issue, but in June 2023 a broad majority in the Danish Parliament agreed with a 10-year defense plan that called for greater equality in conscription. The gender inclusion initiative comes as the Danish Armed Forces called for a “historic strengthening that required a rethink of the conscription model amid growing concern over Europe’s defense capabilities in the face of Russian aggression,” reported the Guardian, a U.K. newspaper. Poulsen, the defense minister, repeated that thinking at the Copenhagen news conference. “Unfortunately, the security policy situation in Europe has become more and more serious, and we have to take that into account when we look at future defense. A more robust conscription, including full gender equality, must contribute to the armed forces’ task resolution, national mobilization and to manning our armed forces. … It is absolutely crucial that we get a more robust conscription in Denmark when we have to build up the Danish defense. … Therefore, a broader basis for recruiting that includes all genders is needed.”
Under the new 11-month conscription model, conscripts will be given five months of basic training before spending six months in operational service across the Air Force, Army and Navy, according to the Guardian. The announcements about women’s conscription coincided with Denmark’s plan to also invest more money into its defense budget in the next five years to meet NATO targets. It is raising its military spending from the current 1.4% of GDP to 2%, according to Womensagenda.com, an Australian news website. Denmark has been one of Ukraine’s greatest supporters in the ongoing conflict, providing it with advanced weapons and funds. It also has trained Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 war planes. “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,” Frederiksen, the prime minister, said, according to Womensagenda.com.