State Duma MPs are discussing a proposal to allow Russian women to perform military service. The relevant amendments have been submitted to the Ministry of Defense for evaluation, Izvestia daily reports.
The law on military service would feature a new subpoint that
reads: "female citizens aged between 18 and 27…” may join
the Russian services on the same grounds as men should they express
a desire. For men of the same age group military service of one
year is obligatory.
According to the representative of the Ministry of Defense, quoted
by the newspaper, “female military contractors are already
serving in the armed forces, so there’s nothing wrong in this
idea.”The other thing is that the law should be correctly
worded so that it doesn’t provoke a negative reaction in the
community," they added.
About 50,000 women are already serving in the Russian Armed Forces.
However, the main idea of the proposal to endorse the female
military conscription is to equalize women's rights with men.
"We should not encourage women to go into the army. But it’s
necessary not to deny that possibility to those who are already
motivated and would like to serve. This is due to gender equality
and the right of women to serve in the Armed Forces," one of
the authors of the amendments, Tatiana Moskalkova, explained.
Chairman of the Duma Committee on Defense, former Black Sea Fleet
Commander Admiral Vladimir Komoedov believes that women could solve
the Defense Ministry’s personnel problems. He believes the contract
system of recruitment has failed because of the lack of men in
Russia.
According to Komoedov, the changes in the conscription law could
“help equip the army.”
“Soldiers under contract could be replaced with women," the
Admiral noted, adding that a woman can actually succeed in a number
of mundane army duties.
“They can be radio operators, parachutists, translators, even
snipers. Of course, there’s no need to put a woman in a tank or a
fighter, but there are a number of positions which are too cushy
for men, while a woman would just have been right," Komoedov
stated.
He added that after approval by the ministry, the amendment to
the conscription law will be discussed at the meeting with Duma’s
Defense Committee in autumn this year.