"Women's Voluntary Defense Organisation is the women's organization of the Estonian Defense League, but while the Defense League focuses mainly on military national defense, the women's organization approaches national defense more broadly," said Ulvi Karu, who recently defended her bachelor's thesis in ethnology.

In simple terms, this means both trudging through the forest in uniform and cooking soup, but Karu said a wide range of activities fit between those two — from medical training, communications and staff work, and evacuation support to improving civilian crisis readiness.

The need for this kind of knowledge became urgent starting on February 24, 2022, when Russia launched its full‑scale invasion of Ukraine. Karu, who has belonged to the Naiskodukaitse for more than 20 years, said this triggered a much larger wave of new members than before. "During the Bronze Night, the war in Georgia or the annexation of Crimea, membership in the women's defense organization did not grow significantly compared with previous years. In contrast, in 2022 the number of members increased by more than one‑third," she said.

In her recently defended bachelor's thesis, Karu studied the motivation of women who joined the Naiskodukaitse starting in 2022, their assessment of their crisis readiness and their understanding of their role during a crisis. She conducted ten individual interviews with women at least 35 years old who joined during the war in Ukraine and are part of the Tartu district. "I assumed that decisions made at that age are generally well thought out. People have established habits by then and do not take on major changes as easily," Karu said.

Skills and anxiety

The war in Ukraine may have prompted people to join the Naiskodukaitse more than earlier Russian provocations and attacks on neighboring countries for several reasons. First, the war began on a highly symbolic day for Estonia — February 24.

"Second, earlier events either did not have such long‑lasting impact, like the Bronze Night, or their relevance faded over time, as with the war in Georgia and the annexation of Crimea," Karu said. The war in Ukraine, by contrast, remained constantly visible and increased civic activity in other ways — people donated to Ukraine and looked for different ways to contribute.

The women Karu interviewed said their main reason for joining was the desire to gain skills that would help them cope better in a potential crisis and assist their loved ones. They especially felt a lack of military knowledge, but it was just as important to understand what their role in national defense could be and how they could contribute during a crisis. "One of the most important findings of my research is that these women had no previous contact with the military field," Karu said.

Most interviewees admitted they had never imagined joining a military‑related organization. Military activity seemed intimidating, and one woman had considered herself a pacifist. "As one 59‑year‑old woman said: 'I realized that my knowledge is not enough to cope with a world like this,'" Karu said.

Collective war memory also encouraged some women to join: family stories about war or experiences of deportation. One respondent joined purely because of war‑related anxiety, hoping to find a way to cope with her fear. "Decisions made out of fear are often not long‑term or lasting. But she found relief for her anxiety and found her place in the Naiskodukaitse," Karu said.

Readiness to protect loved ones

Many women who joined after 2022 already had some crisis readiness. "Some had experience with hiking. That means they already had hiking gear, which is largely also crisis supplies," Karu said. Even so, all respondents said they gained additional knowledge and skills from the Women's Voluntary Defense Organisation.

Interviews also touched on challenges during training. "Most admitted that weapons training and soldier skills seemed intimidating at first, but everyone managed and both types of training received praise," Karu said. After mandatory basic training, members can specialize in an area that interests them.

"The goal of the Naiskodukaitse is for every active member to have one specific crisis role and the readiness to fulfill it if needed," Karu said. Almost all interviewees were ready for this. Only one member, who had small children, planned to leave the country if war broke out because she did not want her children to be caught in it.

Most respondents did not see a conflict between family responsibilities and national defense. In a dangerous situation, they would first take care of their family: husband, children and mother‑in‑law would be put in a car and sent to a safe place. Then the women planned to go fulfill their assigned role. "This shows they viewed national defense broadly. Being ready to care for loved ones also reduces the burden on the state," Karu said.

Many respondents had children who were already grown and living independently. The women's defense organization helped fill the gap that created. "I also want to highlight that two women over 50 went back to school. One said the Naiskodukaitse boosted her confidence enough to take that step. The other was encouraged by her position in the organization. This is a good example of how the Naiskodukaitse has helped women strengthen their belief in themselves and their abilities and opened new perspectives," Karu said.

'I am here and I will stay here'

Karu herself joined the women's defense organization more than 20 years ago in a very different, peacetime context. She was motivated by a desire to be active and a slight dependence on adrenaline, which was reinforced by a friend's descriptions of training exercises. "At the time, I saw the Naiskodukaitse simply as an opportunity to develop my physical and mental endurance and take part in exciting exercises. Over time, I began to understand its importance for national defense," she said.

Her understanding of the importance of her work in national defense developed only after she became active in the organization. Over the years, Karu has served on boards at different levels, helped conduct training exercises and worked as a volunteer instructor.

"In reality, it is not so important why you join the organization, but why you stay," she said about herself and the women she studied. All the women in her research remain members of the Naiskodukaitse. They cited a sense of belonging and the opportunity for continuous self‑development as reasons for staying.

Karu said her work offers the Women's Voluntary Defense Organisation ideas about what messages to emphasize when introducing the organization. "People had very contrasting stereotypes: some feared the organization was too military, others thought it was pointless soup‑ladling. Some knew nothing about it at all," she said. Based on her research, she believes it would be useful to talk more about civilian protection and crisis readiness.

She was most struck by one respondent who said she felt calm while in Estonia on February 24, 2022. But the same person experienced panic during the annexation of Crimea in 2014, when she was in South America. "It was a pleasant surprise that she panicked while away from Estonia — that she could not be in Estonia during a crisis and act, or that she could not return. But while in Estonia she felt: 'I am here and I will stay here,'" Karu said.

Ulvi Karu defended her bachelor's thesis in ethnology, "If we do not defend our homeland ourselves, no one else will either: civic responsibility and crisis readiness in the example of the Women's Voluntary Defense Organisation," on June 4 at the University of Tartu. The thesis was supervised by University of Tartu ethnology researcher Keiu Telve.

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