Denmark presents military recruiting for women, it's a lottery system

Looking through a dense forest stretch outside Denmark's capital with facial paint, 20-year-old Katrine scans the horizon for approaching threats.

After nearly four months of military exercises, the young soldier and the rest of her unit passed the beginning of June, completing their last exercises near the Danish Army barracks in Hovelte, 25km north of Copenhagen, is broadcasting Telegrafi.

Katrine and other female soldiers, who all spoke to the Associated Press on 11 June on condition that only their names be used because of operational security, were offered voluntarily for military service earlier this year.

So far, it was the only way women were allowed to participate in military service, although women have been able to register as full-time members of the armed forces since the early 1970s.

The Scandinavian country is seeking to increase the number of young people in the military by expanding mandatory recruiting for women for the first time. Men and women can still offer themselves voluntarily, and remaining seats will be filled by a neutral gender recruiting lottery.

In the situation in which the world is now, it is necessary. I think it's fair that women share equally with men”, Katrine said.

Under new regulations adopted by Denmark's parliament in early June, Danish women, who turn 18 after Tuesday, will be introduced into the lottery system, under equal conditions with their male countrymen. The change comes at a backdrop of Russian aggression and increased military investments in all NATO countries.

Even from Denmark's relative security, Ukraine's full invasion of Russia casts its shadow. Teachings from the Ukrainian battlefield have also been filtered out in their training.

This makes it very real”, Katrine said.

Denmark's gender equality reforms were initially defined in 2024 as part of a major defence agreement. The programme was originally expected to be implemented by early 2027, but has been postponed to the summer of 2025.

Colonel Kenneth Street, head of the recruiting programme, told the AP that the measure is based on the current <x0-cyto-security sector”.

“They can participate in NATO collective prevention. The increase in the number of recruits, this would simply lead to more war force”, Strøm added.

Denmark, a nation of 6 million, has about 9,000 professional troops. The new agreement is expected to bring the figure of up to 6,500 people performing military service each year by 2033, down from 4,700 last year.

According to Danish law, all men over 18 years of age, physically capable, are called for military service. Some men and women offer volunteers, and the rest of the countries are filled by a lottery system that has so far involved only men. Women's volunteers make up about a quarter of the 2024 group.

Some will probably be very disappointed chosen to go into the military. Some may be surprised and would like it much more than they think”, Anne Sofie, part of Katrine's volunteer group, said of the new female recruits.

Service duration is also extending, from four to 11 months. Recruits will initially spend five months in basic training, followed by six months of operational service, plus additional lessons.

The move is part of a broader military strengthening by the Nordic nation.

In February, the Denmark government announced plans to strengthen its military by creating a $7 billion fund, which said it would increase the country's defence spending to more than 3% of gross domestic product this year. Part of the recruits programme is being financed by the so-called Fund Acceleration.

“We see a tough security situation in Europe. We have an ongoing conflict in Ukraine. We're focusing on the ballistics, where Denmark is contributing a lot of soldiers. So, I think it's a general effort to strengthen Danish defence”, said researcher Ricke Haugaard from the Danish College of Defence.

But Haugaard notes that there are many challenges, from improper equipment and lack of additional barracks to possible sexual harassment.

For the next one or two years, we will build many new buildings to accommodate all these people. So it would be a gradual process”, she added.

In 2017, neighboring Sweden established a military recruit for both men and women after its government spoke of a deteriorating security environment in Europe.

Norway introduced its law implementing military recruiting for both genders in 2013. /Periscopi/