June: Danish pride, women in uniform, and the reverse Jante Law: The Danish Year Part 6

How to Live in Denmark

As of this month, girls who turn 18 can be drafted into the Danish military.

This is new, even though girls in Norway and Sweden have been eligible for the draft for some time. Denmark is proud of its record on gender equality, so maybe it’s a wonder it hasn’t happened sooner. After all, more than half of the medical doctors in Denmark are female. More than half of the priests in Denmark are female. The prime minister is female. At only about 10% female, the military is clearly lagging behind.

The way the military draft in Denmark works is like this: Boys, and soon girls, who have just turned 18 are invited to an obligatory “Defense Day” where their physical and cognitive abilities are tested. If these are satisfactory, you get a lottery number, and if the Danish military doesn’t get enough volunteers to meet its needs, you will be called up.

In recent years, there have been plenty of volunteers, so getting enough people hasn’t been much of a problem. And getting into the Royal Life Guards, real-life soldiers who also protect the Danish Royal Family, remains very high status. It’s where Denmark’s future powerbrokers meet each other.

In 2023, there were about 5000 volunteers, and roughly 25% of them were female. At least in peacetime, the forces have attracted many young women who are athletes, almost as if it were a very disciplined form of an extreme sports challenge.

Read more at howtoliveindenmark.com.

Image created by Kay Xander Mellish via Midjourney, inspired by Danish painters Vilhelm Lundstrøm and CW Eckersberg. Buy the NFT on uncut.network.