“We lost what we did not ‘push’ the issue”: the advisor on gender issues of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gryhorieva, stated the need for the introduction of compulsory military service for women.

During the war, Ukraine restrains the onslaught of Russia, chooses its subjectivity, paying the price of human lives, and at the same time talks about renewal, equality and European values. However, on one of the most sensitive issues, this conversation was postponed as an inconvenience: the role of women in the military. Not just in front-line positions, as volunteers, medics or symbols of resistance, but as full-fledged participants in hostilities who have the same duties as men. However, now that the war has dragged on not for months, but for years, and when the personnel resource is depleted, the government is beginning to ask questions: why is there still no talk of equal opportunities in the performance of combat duties? Why is the role of women in the army still an exception or a voluntary initiative, rather than a clearly defined and state-supported function?

During the hromadske conference “Women’s War”, Oksana Hryhor’eva, adviser on gender issues of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the silence of the state since 2014 regarding the full involvement of women in the military service is a mistake that today has its price.

“We lost the fact that we did not “push” the issue of women joining military service. If we had started to “push” this topic back then, maybe it wouldn’t be so painful today.” Grigorieva emphasized during a public speech at the conference.

According to her, it is not only about the lack of a mobilization or legislative initiative, but also about the fact that there was not even elementary encouragement in the state policy – information campaigns, examples, discussions. The silence of the authorities and the military leadership on this topic created a vacuum in which women were forced to act independently, without relying on the system.

Grigorieva emphasized that tens of thousands of women joined the army voluntarily since 2014. It was their own initiative, motivated by a sense of responsibility, and not an implemented state policy.

“The women left voluntarily in 2014, and now they are leaving voluntarily. But honor and praise to these women, because they are motivated, because they came themselves.” she declared.

According to the adviser, Ukraine had every reason to turn to foreign experience in a timely manner, in particular to the example of Norway. Conscript service for women is not compulsory there, but it is actively encouraged by the state. Young girls undergo training, study, become part of the reserve. This allows the country to have a strong human resource without discrimination and without pressure.

“In 2024, it was possible to use the Norwegian example, according to which women and young girls voluntarily go to study for military service, and then they can join the army more and combine their lives with it,” — Grigorieva noted.

She believes that this approach is not coercion, but the preparation and legalization of women’s participation, the creation of conditions and the formation of social consent. And if this model had been introduced in Ukraine immediately after the start of the war, many issues that are currently causing tension would not be so conflicting.

At the same time, Oksana Grigoryeva clearly separates two concepts: mobilization and conscript service. She emphasizes that Ukrainian society is not yet ready for the mandatory mobilization of women – at least not in its current configuration. However, at the same time, she supports the idea of ​​restoring military service, in which women will also participate, following the example of other democratic countries.

In her opinion, such an approach would allow:

– to create a trained reserve of women who, if necessary, can be involved in the defense of the country;
– remove the stigmatization of women in the military as “exceptions” or “heroines”, leaving them the right to be just professionals;
– to ensure real equality in the armed forces, not just declarative.

As of January 1, 2025, more than 70,000 women are serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is 20% more than in 2022. Among them, more than 5,500 women are directly on the front line. They serve not only as medics or signalmen, but also as snipers, instructors, and unit commanders.

However, as Grigorieva points out, these numbers are more the result of a voluntary impulse than the result of systematic planning. Ukraine still does not have a clear strategy for attracting women to the army, has not properly updated the infrastructure (barracks, sanitary conditions, equipment), and has not prepared a communication framework that would relieve public tension around the topic.