16-year-old Camille Hasbani interviews girls in Denmark on military conscription for women
Women participate in a military parade in Aalborg, Denmark.
March 7, 2025
Young women react to new law on female military conscription in Denmark
The Danish Parliament changed the law on military conscription in Denmark last year, extending the length of service from around four months to 11 months, increasing the annual number of conscripts from 4,700 to 7,500, and requiring women to be equally subject to conscription as men. The eligibility of candidates is based on their physical and mental health.
With these changes, the government hopes to strengthen its military, as well as modernise its institutions in regards to gender equality. The law will take effect on 1 January 2026, meaning it will apply to anyone turning 18 after this date.
The fight for gender equality has shaped politics in modern history from the beginning of the suffrage movements in the late 19th century. Since then, most countries have over time introduced different policies to close the gender gap. Denmark has been a very motivated country in this battle and has passed numerous laws to end gender discrimination, such as equal pay for men and women.
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Another reason to pass this law is rising safety concerns in many European countries. Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many countries in the region have launched military reinforcement plans. Denmark is one of them.
Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen stated: “More robust conscription, including full gender equality, must contribute to solving defence challenges, national mobilisation and manning our armed forces.”
Today, this law opens up an essential discussion about how Danish society should evolve, and more globally about Denmark’s position on international conflicts.
Harbingers’ Magazine interviewed four female high-school students to learn more about their thoughts on the law change. Two (Sofia and Fatima) are foreign citizens with South American, Scandinavian and African backgrounds, and two (Maria and Clara) are Danish citizens, all studying on the International Baccalaureate programme at the same school.
Overall, even though they seem to agree that the Danish government should protect its country, some expressed concerns about the so-called ‘gender equality aim’ of the law.
Maria, 17, has seen the Danish government take action to solve gender inequality within the country’s systems and believes that “the government is doing a good thing with this law and setting the example for other countries”, adding that she is happy women are getting more representation in male-dominated fields.
For Sofia, 16, the main aim of the law is not to address gender gaps, but that it has been “added as almost an excuse when the real concerns are the war threats in Europe”. She feels that to reduce the gender gap, the focus should be on pay or job opportunities rather than “introducing women to the military by force”. Nevertheless, Sofia agreed with the overall decision of rearmament by several European countries, including Denmark.
Fatima, 16, pointed out that with regards to national security, “Denmark is not preparing for war but for the eventuality of it” – which she sees as a considerable threat.
Clara, 17, expressed doubts about “how serious the situation actually is” based on her experience about Danish media exaggerating stories “to sell papers”, she said. None of the interviewees spoke against the overall rearmament of Denmark.
Maria, who is directly affected by the law, concluded: “But maybe the military is fun to go to, you know!”
Concerns have been expressed, notably by politician Eva Flyvholm: “We are sceptical about the government’s plan to extend military service from four to 11 months. It seems unrealistic given the current lack of capacity and resources within the armed forces.”
Currently, women can volunteer for the army. In 2024, 23.6% of the new conscripts in the Danish armed forces were women. Denmark is the third European country to mandate female conscription, after Norway and Sweden.
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