Conscription is obviously not a new issue for the MRM, but I think we should keep our page fresh with periodic posting of major issues, so new people scrolling through can see specific examples and know what some major issues are. So, here's one on conscription.

Conscription is a practice where citizens are forced to join the military for a set amount of time, usually 1-2 years. Conscription typically occurs when a citizen reaches a certain age, usually 18. Conscription is a major MRA issue because in the vast majority of nations that impose conscription, only males are conscripted.

The wiki article map has an up to date map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription#/media/File:Conscription_map_of_the_world.svg

The time varies, as does the age. A few of these nations conscription women to, such as Norway, Israel, and Eritrea. The vast majority only conscription men.

What's notable is the practice of gendered conscription in nations that have a reputation for being progressive and gender equal. Finland and Austria are both countries with a progressive image and strong language for gender equality in their constitutions. The World economic forum lists Finland as the 2nd most gender neutral country in the world:

http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/rankings/

It's as if conscription "doesn't count" in evaluating gender equality for some reason. It's a blatant legal disparity based on gender that should be prohibited by the constitution. However, the European Court of Justice released a ruling that military service was exempt from equality laws. The relevant piece from that ruling here

Conscription has of course been implemented in the United States, called the draft. The most recently the draft was used in the U.S was 1973, meaning the youngest person drafted would be presumably 62 today. Between WW2, Korea, and Vietnam, a sizable percentage of adult males in the US were drafted into wartime, which is still true today. To me, that seems like a major difference in gender equality- exemption from war- but it's as if it never happened. I wonder how many homeless men and men living in chronic pain today were drafted during the Vietnam war?

Some notes about the draft from around the world:

  • Conscription is Russia is said to be particularly brutal. Lasting for a year, there are many reports of harsh conditions and abuse.

  • In Switzerland, draftees are able to be called to duty until 30, and must drill yearly until 30. Any man who fails his military physical at age 18 is exempt, but must pay a 3% higher rate on income tax until age 30.

  • norway recently made the draft gender neutral and now include women. Interestingly, it was feminists groups who were most against making conscription gender equal: http://womenalliance.org/no-to-female-conscription

  • Singapore and South Korea each have a 2 year conscription service for male citizens.

  • some countries, such as Finland, have an alternative service for citizens who do not wish do military service. This usually involved performing civil service for ha

  • the longest draft in the world is in North Korea. Men must serve 10 years

Recently, several nations have considered bringing back conscription or implementing it for the first time. Here's a good BBC article on it, also talking about avoiding conscription:

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20161101-the-high-cost-of-avoiding-the-draft