The unresolved argument that has been ongoing since the day conscription was announced in Singapore, should National Service (NS) be compulsory for the women of Singapore? My short-term answer would be, no. There is no need for women to serve NS now.
Photo by MINDEF
Why is there no need for women to serve NS?
“Having reached this position of strength, should we for the sake of gender equality, now introduce NS for women?” Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen asked, highlighting how the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), despite reduced manpower, has remained operationally ready by using technology and optimising resources as mentioned in a CNA Article.
I personally believe there is no need for women to enlist at this current moment where Singapore’s security is not yet in a critical state.
“Will it not be too late when Singapore’s security is finally threatened?” My answer to that question is that when the time comes, women would do their part in protecting their country. However, for now, women are needed in other areas.
“Women will be delayed in their entry into the workforce. The immediate effect will be an accentuated decline in the size of our local workforce, and a reduction of household incomes. Even if women are enlisted for non-military National Service roles to augment our healthcare and social services, it may make manpower shortages in other industries worse. Over the long term, it will impose a great cost not only on women themselves, but also on their families, children and spouses and society as a whole,” said the Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in his address to the parliament on May 9th, 2022.
A major reason why women is not enlisting now is because of their contribution to Singapore’s economy. Unlike most men in Singapore, women’s entry into the workforce is not delayed, meaning they can contribute to the economy earlier. Having manpower in the workforce is quintessential to Singapore who has little natural resources and depend on trading to survive.
According to CNBC, Singapore’s trade-to-GDP ratio for 2021 was 338%, according to the World Bank. The trade-to-GDP ratio is an indicator of how open an economy is to international trade.
When should women have to serve NS?
As aforementioned, when the time comes, I still believe that women have to step up too. When the security of Singapore is threatened externally or internally and the SAF requires additional manpower on their end, I believe that is when women should sign on to the force.
However if we look long-term, with the diminishing birth rates in Singapore, there is that possibility that there would not be enough men to serve NS. It was reported that the current birth rate for Singapore in 2022 is 8.419 births per 1000 people, a 0.98% decline from 2021 and the birth rate in 2021 was 8.502 births per 1000 people, a 0.96% decline from 2020. The pattern is obvious. Maybe then, women may have to enlist too.
However, despite all these factors I still have some unanswered questions.
Why not make it optional for both genders? What if too little people served the army then? Or what if the government decides a selected number of men and women to enter the army? Would it cause an uproar among Singaporeans? Will it cause them to question the fairness or justice behind the decision on who is to enlist and who don’t?
What do you think? Should National Service be compulsory for women?
