Hanna Holopainen demands that the government take bold steps to develop a national defense system that treats men and women more fairly and strengthens national security. The majority of Finns already support universal civilian service, regardless of gender.
The Advisory Council for Equality Issues published a report on gender-neutral conscription today. According to the report, the majority of parliamentary parties support selective, gender-neutral conscription.
Green Party MP Hanna Holopainen, member of the Defense Committee, supports universal civilian service.
“Expanding conscription aims both to improve equality and strengthen national defense. In my opinion, the best way to achieve this is through civic service. Everyone’s participation and skills contribute to strengthening preparedness. According to the Constitution, everyone is obliged to serve in national defense; universal and mandatory civic service would therefore be in line with this logic,” says Hanna Holopainen.
According to Holopainen, the first step is to organize common conscriptions so that everyone receives equal information about military service.
“The most important thing now would be to introduce conscriptions for all age groups to encourage voluntary military service. The goal of expanding conscriptions is to increase the number of people who begin their military service compared to the current level and to make the entire conscription system more egalitarian,” explains Holopainen.
According to Holopainen, a great deal of expertise is needed to ensure overall security, both in terms of military and civilian preparation.
“The goal for the future should be an egalitarian system, without the current gender discrimination.” “Our society would be much better protected if we included women more in the preparation,” concludes Holopainen.
