20 Reasons Why Conscription Is A Good Thing

For both young men and women.

Photo by Museums Victoria on Unsplash

For many years, most countries around the world used conscription to bolster their armies. After World War II, many countries began eliminating the draft and began to rely on recruiting to maintain the military. Today, there are 85 mostly smaller countries around the globe that still have some form of militarily draft. The larger countries include both North and South Korea, Russia, Switzerland, Israel, Brazil and Syria.

Back when most countries used conscription, draftees were male. Israel was one of the first modern world countries to draft both men and women and is one of only a few countries in the world with a mandatory military service requirement for both genders. According to the Israel Defence Force reports, 535 female Israeli soldiers have been killed while serving their country between the years 1962 and 2016.

At least 11 of the 60 countries with active conscription programs draft both men and women. Some countries, such as Sudan and Vietnam, legislate the conscription of women but draft only men in actual practice. A number of other countries that currently do not have active conscription programs, such as Portugal, Myanmar, Ivory Coast and Chad, have a stipulation that if they ever do activate a conscription service for their armed forces, men and women…