Former top judge calls for extending Estonia's defense obligations to women
Former Supreme Court chief justice Rait Maruste said national defense obligations should apply to women as well, calling Estonia's current male-only system discriminatory.
Writing in Lääne Elu, Maruste (Reform), a former judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), argued that Estonia's current defense system reflects an outdated gender model.
He said the system, in which conscription and national defense obligations currently only apply to male citizens, is rooted in assumptions that military service is suited only to men due to its physical demands, including in combat roles.
"Unfortunately, that era, mindset and modus operandi have irreversibly become a thing of the past," he said.
Modern-day national defense includes a variety of functions that do not require physical strength or conditioning, he said, making it possible to extend mandatory service to both men and women — but achieving equal participation would require Estonia to move away from older military doctrines and traditional views of service.
Click here to read more in Lääne Elu.
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Editor: Urmet Kook, Aili Vahtla
