Swiss voters reject mandatory military service for women

Swiss referendum on ending male-only conscription fails with 84% no vote

In Switzerland, the standard-issue rifle sleeps at home, not in an arsenal. The sight of a father walking with his daughter to the shooting range, SIG rifle on shoulder, is normal. That country just voted: the initiative to impose mandatory civic service on the entire population, including women, was rejected by 84% of votes. On the same day, an inheritance tax for large estates also crashed against the ballot boxes, with 79% voting no. Polls had already anticipated the proposal's debacle, with a prior rejection rate of 60%. In the end, even the forecasts fell short.

A military model with conscription at home

Switzerland maintains a recruitment system only for men, with voluntary service for women. The initiative wanted to change the current model and open it to civic service in areas such as environmental protection, healthcare, or social services, while making military service voluntary. The text also left the door open to extending the obligation to resident foreigners, a detail that set off all alarms.

The Alpine country, with a citizen militia that keeps the regulation rifle at home, adds up to an active force that some analysts estimate at 2.5 million personnel. In conversations prior to the vote, that proximity-based military model became the main argument for those opposed to the reform: if the rifle is already in the closet, why put it to work in a social services office?

The equality trap: gender as an escape route

The debate had its sharpest edge in the legal gap. In Switzerland, gender self-determination allows changing sens administratively from age 16. And mandatory military service remains a matter for men. Hence the paradox that ran through the campaign: an initiative designed to equalize obligations could be emptied with a simple procedure, since a woman newly registered as such would be exempt from recruitment. Analysis of the electoral period insisted that the text did not close that loophole, which cost support among those demanding real, not just formal, equality.

On the other hand, those opposing the reform described it as a torpedo against the army, a maneuver to replace national defense with administrative hangouts. Supporters of military equality, however, denounced that women claim the same rights but dodge the same obligations. The reproduction argument also appeared: in a country with low birth rates, sending women of childbearing age to the front is seen as demographic suicide.

On the same day, taxes also said no

The referendum, held during election day, included a second question: an inheritance tax intended to levy large estates. The 79% rejection confirms the same logic that sank civic service: the Swiss are not willing to have solidarity dictated from the center. The country voted to preserve the current model, with its militia at home and its tailored fiscal policy.

And here comes the disorienting data: the initiative, which polls placed as a clear loser, did not die because of the male vote. Swiss women, to whom the proposal seemed directed, said no in significant proportion. Even in environments where the measure had generated expectation, not few ended up acknowledging that their daughters voted against. Equality of obligations, in the end, crashes into something more prosaic than ideology: the ledger of burdens and benefits.