Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky is beginning to draft women for the Ukrainian war machine, beginning with those with some sort of medical background.
“All medical women, these are doctors, nurses, dentists, midwives, pharmacists, ages 18 to 60, will be required to register for military service starting October 1st,” reads a missive from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, citing a government decree.
“Such women perform military duty on an equal footing with men. The legislation does not distinguish between women and men conscripted into the military,” the missive adds, framing the draft as a triumph for sexual equality.
Some 60,000 Ukrainian women are already under arms on a voluntary basis, with over a hundred of them confirmed dead. They have faced significant problems with equipment and health issues in the field, and in some cases bullying and sexual harassment. One female platoon sergeant has alleged a senior male commander was intimidating servicewomen into having sex with him, threatening that he would start “sending their husbands who were also in the brigade to their deaths” if they refused him.
Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are already subject to conscription, and legally barred from leaving the country.
