GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2022) Switzerland may make military service compulsory for women, as provided in a new government report developed to prevent the shortage of personnel in the country's armed forces, the upper house of the Swiss parliament said on Wednesday.
"It is possible that women will have to serve in Switzerland. The Council of States (the upper house of the Swiss parliament) on Wednesday took note of a two-part government report aimed at preventing problems with a shortage of personnel in the army and civil defense," a statement read.
The first option proposed is to make the service compulsory for Swiss women, which would double the number of military staff. The second option provides for the unification of the civil service and civil defense into a new organization.
"The standard size of the army is 100,000 servicemen. However, in practice, it is possible to pick up only 80% of the personnel, since not all servicemen can enter service in the event of mobilization," lawmaker Werner Salzmann said in the statement.
The Swiss army is organized on the principle of a militia. All Swiss able-bodied male citizens are required to perform military service. Swiss women can also commit themselves to service on a voluntary basis.
