Estonia wants to introduce compulsory military service for women, media write

The Estonian authorities, due to the declining birth rate in the republic, are considering the possibility of introducing compulsory military service for women, the Estonian television and radio company ERR reports, citing Ana Rannaveski, Director General of the country's Department of Defense Resources.

"According to the Director General of the Department of Defense Resources, Anu Rannaveski, the implementation of the plan for conscription of conscripts in the Defense Forces exclusively at the expense of men may soon become difficult due to the decline in the birth rate, so it is necessary to find ways to attract more women into conscript service," the report said.

According to Rannaveski, the number of conscripts in Estonia from next year will be up to 4 thousand 100 people, and since the birth rate is declining, in the period from 2035 to 2040 it will be difficult to fulfill the plan for recruiting conscripts exclusively from young men. In this case, she believes, it will be necessary to introduce a stricter procedure and develop our own effective system for introducing compulsory military service for women, based on the experience of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.