Denmark’s defense minister says women should have mandatory military service just like men.
He argued Denmark can no longer afford to rely only on volunteers and insisted that everyone must do their part to properly defend the country. Due to the large number of volunteers, who typically represent more than 96 percent of the country’s active servicemen, the number of people actually serving in the army remains relatively low and accounts for less than one percent of the Danish armed forces.
Denmark’s current laws permit the armed forces to force all physically fit men over the age of 18 to join the service which typically lasting between four and 12 months. Women, on the other hand, are allowed to voluntarily participate but are not legally obligated to do so.