Norway to become first European nation to extend conscription to women

June 16, 2013

Norway has decided to with “gender neutral” military conscription after its Parliament reached an agreement to extend the military conscription to women in peacetime. This move will make Norway the only country in Europe to extend its military conscription to women.
It would mean that Norway’s mandatory one-year military service will be extended to women, probably as of 2015.The Defence Ministry of Norway has clarified that the step is not due to lack of conscripts.
Since 1976, Norwegian women have been allowed to do military service on a volunteer. Even before the adoption of a “gender neutral” military service, the Defence Ministry had set a target of 20% women in the armed forces by 2020.
Outside of Europe, some countries such as Israel require both men and women to complete their conscription.

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