Denmark said it would introduce compulsory military service for women starting in 2026.
On June 11, the Danish parliament, the Folketing, voted unanimously in favour of a bill extending conscription to females.
That meant women and men, who were already subject to the draft, would be treated the same with regard to Danish defence needs.
Moreover, the standard conscription period would be extended to 11 months from the current four months from 2026.
Starting on July 1, 2025, all women who were turning 18 would be summoned to nearby barracks for Armed Forces Day on September 5. Attendance would be mandatory.
There they would undergo screening procedures and draw a lottery number. If the Danish military did not find enough volunteers to fulfil its staffing needs, the armed forces could conscript soldiers using the lottery system.
The vote ended a long debate in Danish politics that had been going on since then-defence minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen first introduced the idea in January 2023.
Ellemann-Jensen – who left politics in February 2023 – said the measure would help Denmark meet its NATO obligations and that the military would also benefit from having more women under its command. Several women’s organisations reportedly backed the extension of the draft to women.
The proposal was initially met with resistance from right-wing parties Danish Democrats and Liberal Alliance.
Both ultimately changed their stance, citing the evolving security situation in Europe as the main reason. Ultimately, there was no dissenting vote against the proposal in the parliamentary session on June 11.
Women have been able to undertake voluntary military service in Denmark since 1998. Currently, they make up about 10 per cent of military personnel.
The expected inflow of new conscripts and the extended service time now posed new challenges for the Danish armed forces. The number of conscripts was expected to increase from 5,000 to 7,500 per year.
According to Danish newspaper Fyns Amts Avis on June 11, that would pose the very practical challenge of finding suitable accommodation in the country’s barracks, many of which are outdated and in poor condition.
