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Article: Equality may mean Army service in Sweden: A controversial proposal would make military service mandatory for women.(Features)(Homefront)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- April 19, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Gender equality is bursting its seams in Sweden, where a proposal was introduced last month to expand compulsory military service to include women.
Sweden is in the vanguard even for considering the measure; it would be only the second country to conscript women, after Israel. But it signals what might happen elsewhere in Europe. It could even extend to the United States, should the US adopt compulsory peacetime service or reinstate the draft. Many people feel that equal rights for women also means equal responsibilities.
While no culture seems ready to force women into combat, armies' increased reliance on high-tech weaponry over brute force is tipping ...